"L  I  E>  RA  FLY 

OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY 
Of    ILLINOIS 

977  2 
InZ 


\UL  HIST.  SURVK 


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THE  JOURNEY  OF 
LEWIS  DAVID  VON  SCHWEINITZ 

to 

GOSHEN,  BARTHOLOMEW  COUNTY 

in  1831 


Translated  By 
ADOLF  GERBER 


Indiana  Historical 

Society     Publications 

Volume  8 

Number  5 


INDIANAPOLIS 
PRINTED    FOR    THE    SOCIETY 

1927 


The   Wm.    Mitchell    Printing   Co., 
Greenfield,    Indiana 


INTRODUCTION 

The  report  which  Lewis  David  von  Schweinitz1  made  to 
the  Provincial  Helpers'  Conference  of  the  Moravian  Church 
at  Bethlehem,2  Pennsylvania,  of  his  journey  in  1831  to  In- 
diana and  return  to  Bethlehem  by  way  of  Gnadenhutten  and 
Sharon,  Ohio,  presents  many  points  of  interest.  It  gives  an 
interesting  chapter  in  the  development  of  the  Moravian  Church 
in  the  United  States,  and  an  accurate  account  of  the  methods 
and  conditions  of  travel  between  northeastern  Pennsylvania 
and  central  Indiana.  It  throws  light  upon  pioneer  conditions 
in  southern  Indiana,  and  contains  a  vivid  picture  of  an  early 
settlement.  It  also  includes  notes  of  value  made  by  a  scientific 
botanist  upon  the  flora  of  Indiana. 

Lewis  David  von  Schweinitz  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  Penn- 
sylvania, in  1780.  His  father,  John  Christian  Alexander  von 
Schweinitz,3  was  of  an  ancient  and  distinguished  family  of 
Silesia  and  his  mother  was  a  granddaughter  of  Count  Zinzen- 
dorf.  Both  were  devoted  workers  in  the  Moravian  Church 
and  served  in  Pennsylvania  from  1770  up  to  the  close  of  the 


1The  German  form  of  the  name  is  Ludwig  David  von  Schweinitz. 
In  America  the  French  form,  "de  Schweinitz,"  is  as  commonly  used 
as  the  German,  "von  Schweinitz."  In  the  letter  to  Martin  Hauser  in 
which  a  visit  to  Goshen  is  proposed,  the  signature  is  "De  Schweinitz." 
His   first  name  is   sometimes   spelled   "Louis." 

2Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  Lehigh  River,  a  name  which  is  a 
modified  form  of  the  Indian  "Lechai"  or  "Lechi,"  was  the  chief  Mo- 
ravian settlement  in  the  United  States,  planted  in  1741.  A  great  many 
of  the  Moravian  missionaries  went  out  from  this  place.  When  two 
provinces  of  the  Moravian  Church  were  organized,  Bethlehem  re- 
mained the  headquarters  of  the  northern  province;  Salem,  later  Win- 
ston-Salem, North  Carolina,  being  the  headquarters  of  the  southern 
province. 

8Von  Schweinitz,  Rev.  Paul  D.,  "German  Moravian  Settlements  in 
Pennsylvania.  1 735-1800,"  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society  Proceed- 
ings, vol.  IV,  p.  72   (Published  by  the  Society,   1894). 

(205) 


206  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

century  without  compensation  other  than  a  house  to  live  in. 

Von  Schweinitz  received  his  early  education  at  Nazareth 
Hall,4  the  Moravian  meeting-house  and  school  at  Nazareth, 
Pennsylvania ;  while  preparing  for  the  ministry,  he  was  also 
a  great  student  of  science,  particularly  of  cryptogamic  botany. 
In  1798  he  went  to  Germany  with  his  father  and  the  rest  of 
his  family  for  the  purpose  of  fuller  classical  and  theological 
training  at  Niesky  in  Upper  Lusatia.5  There  he  devoted  his 
leisure  hours  to  the  study  of  fungi.  In  recognition  of  a  paper 
which  he  prepared  on  the  species  of  the  order  found  around 
Niesky,  published  at  Leipsic  in  conjunction  with  Professor 
Albertini,  the  degree  of  Ph.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  University  of  Kiel. 

In  1812  he  was  called  to  Salem,  North  Carolina,  to  take 
charge  of  the  property  of  the  Moravian  Church.6  In  Decem- 
ber, 1821  he  was  transferred  to  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  as 
minister  and  principal  of  the  school  for  girls.  The  following 
year  he  became  administrator  of  church  property. 

In  1822  his  great  work,  A  Synopsis  of  the  Fungi  of 
North  America,  was  presented  to  the  American  Philosophical 


4"At  Nazareth,  nine  English  Miles  to  the  north  of  Bethlehem, 
there  is  built  a  roomy  Meeting-hall  called  Nazareth-hall,  in  which  the 
Brethren's  Congregation  which  lives  round  about  Nazareth  in  dif- 
ferent places,  Gnadenthal  and  Christian's  Spring,  has  their  divine  Serv- 
ice on  Sundays  &  festival  Days.  At  Nazareth-hall  there  is  also  the 
Paedagogium  of  the  Unity  of  the  Brethren  in  America.  Last  year 
[1771]  the  building  of  a  new  Congregation  Place  near  the  Meeting-hall 
was  begun."  Spangenberg,  Bishop  August  Gottlieb,  "A  Short  His- 
torical Account  about  the  Present  Constitution  of  the  Protestant  Unity 
of  the  Bethren  of  the  Augustan  Confession"  (1772),  translated  by 
Bagge,  Traugott  (1778),  in  Fries,  Adelaide  L.  (ed.),  Records  of  the 
Moravians  in  North  Carolina,  vol.  Ill,  p.  1986  (Raleigh,  1926). 

5" Niesky,  also  in  Upper  Lusatia,  [Electorate  of  Saxony]  Germany 
on  the  Manor  of  Trcbus,  12  miles  from  Görlitz.  It  was  begun  to  be 
built  in  1742,  by  exiles  from  Bohemia.  Here  is  at  present  the  Paedogo- 
gium  of  the  Protestant  Unity  of  the  Brethren."     Ibid.,  p.  981. 

6Von  Schweinitz'  account  of  his  journey  to  Salem  from  June  4 
to  September  16,  in  the  opening  days  of  the  War  of  1812,  is  being 
printed  at  Herrnhut,  Saxony,  Germany,  with  omissions  and  some 
changes  of  style.  It  will  be  published  under  the  title,  "Über  Welt- 
meer." Salem,  now  part  of  the  important  city  of  Winston-Salem,  For- 
syth County,  North  Carolina,  was  and  still  is  an  important  Moravian 
center.  According  to  Bishop  Spangenberg  (op.  cit.,  p.  988),  it  was 
founded   in   1766. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  207 

Society  of  Philadelphia.  In  this  he  enumerated  3,098  differ- 
ent species,  including  1,203  new  to  science.7  During  the  same 
period  he  also  prepared  his  Monograph  of  the  Carices  of  North 
America,  which  was  accepted  and  published  by  the  New  York 
Lyceum  of  Natural  History.8  As  a  scientist,  von  Schweinitz 
was  further  honored  by  having  his  name  embodied  in  a  genus 
of  flowering  plants  of  the  heath  family,  Schweinitzia,  rep- 
resented by  a  brace  of  rare  species,  one  of  them  at  home  in  the 
mountains  of  the  Carolinas  and  the  other  in  Florida. 

Twice,  in  1818  and  in  1825,  von  Schweinitz  was  sent  as 
delegate  to  the  Synod  at  Herrnhut,9  Saxony,  Germany,  and  on 
the  latter  occasion  he  was  ordained  "Senior  Civilis."10  Like 
his  parents,  he  was  always  a  devoted  worker  in  the  Moravian 
Church  and  was  most  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his 
ministerial  and  financial  duties. 

In  1830  his  health  began  to  fail.  His  journey  through 
Indiana  made  only  a  temporary  improvement.  He  died  Feb- 
ruary 8,  1834.11 


7The  Library  of  Congress  catalog  gives  the  following  title :  Syn- 
opsis fungorum  Carolinae  superioris  secundum  observationes  Ludovici 
Davidis  de  Scweinitz — Ed.  a  D.  F.  Schwaegrichen,  1822  (E  Commen- 
tariis,  Societatis  naturae  curiosorum  lipsiensis  excerpta). 

8This  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  John  Torrey  for  publica- 
tion, since  von  Schweinitz  was  called  to  Germany.  He  therefore  in- 
sisted that  the  paper  appear  as  a  joint  production,  in  recognition  of 
the  editing  and  a  few  additions  made  by  Dr.  Torrey.  The  Library  of 
Congress  Catalog  gives :  The  Correspondence  of  Schweinitz  and  Tor- 
rey, ed.  by  C.  L.  Shear  and  Neil  E.  Stevens  (New  York,  The  Club, 
1921). 

9"Herrnhuth,  in  Upper  Lusatia,  on  the  high  road  that  leads  from 
Lobau  to  Zittau,  on  the  Manor  of  Berthelsdorf,  formerly  the  estate  of 
Count  Zinzendorf,  now  of  Baron  de  Watteville.  This  place  was  be- 
gun to  build  in  1722,  and  the  Congregation  has  in  process  of  time  been 
confirmed  in  its  Regulations  by  Privileges  from  the  Elector."  Spang- 
enberg,  op.  cit.,  p.  981. 

10The  duties  of  the  Seniores  civiles  were  to  inspect  the  decorum 
of  the  respective  congregations  and  their  observation  of  the  national 
laws,  and  when  necessary,  to  prevent  any  infringement  of  the  rights 
and  privileges  granted  them  by  the  government.  These  officers,  ap- 
pointed and  blessed  by  central  church  authorities,  ranked  between  bish- 
ops and  the  presbyters. 

1:LThis  sketch  is  based  upon  the  notes  of  Dr.  Adolf  Gerber,  the 
translator  of  the  following  report,  upon  Porter,  Rev.  Thomas  C,  "The 
Pennsylvania-German  in  the  Field  of  the  Natural  Sciences."  The 
Pennsylvania-German   Society   Proceedings,   vol.    VI,    pp.    30-33    (Pub- 


208  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

The  congregation  of  United  Brethren  or  Moravians  at 
Hope  (Goshen)  which  was  the  objective  of  Lewis  David  von 
Schweinitz,  was  formed  by  Martin  Häuser  and  other  settlers 
from  Salem,  North  Carolina,  about  fourteen  miles  east  of  Co- 
lumbus, Indiana.  Von  Schweinitz,  as  a  member  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Church  Board  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  in  1830, 
advanced  $200  for  the  establishment  of  a  church  by  these 
settlers.  A  rude  log  church  was  built  and  the  first  services  in 
it  were  held  on  June  17,  but  the  formal  organization  of  the 
church  awaited  von  Schweinitz'  visit  the  following  year.  Mar- 
tin Hauser  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  at  Bethlehem  in 
1833,  and  became  the  first  settled  pastor.  The  church  has  main- 
tained its  identity  and  its  activities  down  to  the  present  time.12 

When  the  settlers  sought  to  obtain  a  post-office,  the  name, 
Goshen,  which  had  been  applied  to  the  settlement  itself  was 
found  to  be  duplicated  in  Goshen,  Elkhart  County,  Indiana. 
Accordingly  the  post-office  was  given  the  new  name,  Hope, 
which  it  has  retained  to  the  present.  The  post-office  of  Hope 
was  established  February  8,  1834,  with  Martin  Häuser  as  its 
first  postmaster.13 

For  information  about  the  relation  of  the  North  Carolina 
churches  to  those  in  Indiana,  and  the  movement  from  the 
former  to  the  latter,  we  are  indebted  to  Miss  Adelaide  L. 
Fries,  of  Winston-Salem,  North  Carolina,  archivist  of  the 
Moravian  Church  in  America,  Southern  Province.  Miss  Fries 
is  a  granddaughter  of  Lewis  David  von  Schweinitz.  She 
writes  that  a  large  loss  of  membership  in  North  Carolina  be- 
gan about  1818,  and  assumes  that  much  of  it  was  due  to  the 


lished  by  the  Society,  1896),  and  upon  Hamilton,  J.  Taylor,  History  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  pp.  357-61  {Transactions  of  the  Moravian  His- 
torical Society,  vol.  VI,  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  1900).  The  latter  contains  a 
full-page   portrait   of    von   Schweinitz,   p.    361. 

12"The  Moravian  Church  of  Hope,"  in  History  of  Bartholomew 
County,  Indiana,  pp.  527-34  (Chicago,  1888)  ;  manuscript  diaries  of 
Martin  Häuser  and  Sand  ford  A.  Rominger ;  manuscript  church  rec- 
ords at  Hope.  Photostats  of  the  diary  and  reminiscences  of  Martin 
Häuser  and  of  many  of  the  church  records  are  in  the  Indiana  State 
Library.  Early  traditions  of  the  church  are  unusually  well  preserved. 
Its  Easter  services  draw  many  hundreds  of  visitors. 

13Record  of    Indiana  post-offices,   Indiana   State   Library. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  209 

western  movement.  However,  there  is  little  definite  infor- 
mation in  the  records  at  Salem  prior  to  1829,  when  the  Pro- 
vincial Elders'  Conference  gave  official  sanction  to  the  Hope 
movement. 

Miss  Fries's  translation  of  extracts  from  the  minutes  of 
the  Provincial  Elders'  Conference,  Salem,  North  Carolina, 
gives  the  background  of  the  Indiana  settlement: 

Sept.  8,  182g.  Some  of  our  former  neighbors  have  moved  from 
this  part  of  the  country  to  the  State  of  Indiana,  whither  our  Br.  and 
Sr.  Martin  Häuser, — who  have  been  living  outside  Salem,  N.  C — plan 
to  go  shortly.  On  his  visit  there  last  year  Br.  Häuser  found  his  brother 
and  certain  others  who  belong  to  the  Unity,  who  live  near  together, 
who  desire  a  spiritual  association,  and  greatly  desire  that  they  may 
be  provided  with  a  Brother  belonging  to  the  Unity  who  can  serve  them 
as  pastor  or  preacher  as  soon  as  a  sufficient  number  of  them  have 
associated  themselves  together.  There  is  a  prospect  that  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  Country  Congregation  there  would  be  of  service  to  that 
neighborhood  and  others  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Br.  Martin 
Hauser  has  taken  up  the  matter  with  Br.  von  Schweinitz  [of  Bethle- 
hem, Pa.]  offering  to  take  up  a  Quarter  Section, — 160  acres, — in  the 
name  of  von  Schweinitz;  thinking  that  the  land  can  be  used  for  the 
support  of  a  minister  there,  where  money  is  likely  to  be  scarce.  Br. 
von  Schweinitz  approved  the  plan,  especially  as  the  land  is  fertile  and 
cheap,  that  is  $1.25  per  acre.  Br.  von  Schweinitz  has  given  Br.  Mar- 
tin Häuser  a  written  statement  of  his  thoughts  and  views,  and  has 
recommended  the  plan  to  this  Provincial]  E[lders']  Conference],  sug- 
gesting that  the  money  be  raised  through  private  subscription  or  through 
an  advance  from  the  Administration  here,  in  order  that  those  who  are 
seeking  the  preaching  of  the   Gospel  may  be  helped   if    possible. 

As  the  carrying  out  of  this  recommended  plan  could  be  more  easily 
accomplished  by  the  Bethlehem  P.  E.  C.  than  from  here,  it  seems  to 
us  that  for  the  present  it  will  be  best  to  advise  that  they  do  it.  But 
as  a  preparation  it  is  very  necessary  that  some  one  shall  receive  a  pre- 
liminary commission  to  serve  as  leader  for  the  souls  who  are  hungry  for 
salvation,  to  visit  them,  hold  meetings  for  reading,  exhortation  and 
prayer,  as  Br.  Martin  Häuser  has  set  forth  to  this  P.  E.  C. ;  and  it 
seems  to  us  that  this  Brother  is  himself  fitted  to  act  in  this  capacity, 
for  we  understand  his  position  in  the  matter,  and  he  has  been  suc- 
cessful in  work  of  the  same  sort  among  awakened  souls  in  this  neigh- 
borhood. We  therefore  believe  ourselves  to  be  able  to  give  him  a 
written  Call,  and  in  order  to  avoid  trouble  we  will  also  give  him  a 
letter  of  instructions,  under  which  he  can  act.  Br.  Bechler  will  draw 
up  the  letter. 

Dec.  14,  1830.  The  families  who  have  moved  from  this  neighbor- 
hood to  Indiana  are  very  anxious  to  have  a  Country  Congregation  es- 
tablished, and  to  have  it  served  by  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Unity 
of  Brethren  [Unitas  Fratrum  or  Moravian  Church],  Br.  Martin  Häuser 
has  made  this  wish  known  to  the  Pennsylvania  P.  E.  C,  and  has  asked 
whether  the  matter  ought  to  be  presented  to  that  P.  E.  C.  or  to  this 
one.  In  his  last  letter  Br.  Anders  has  asked  Br.  Bechler  for  a  speedy 
expression  of  the  thoughts  of  this  Conference  in  this  matter,  and  es- 
pecially   whether    the    families    who    have    moved    thither    should    be 


210  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

counted  as  belonging  to  the  northern  P.  E.  C.  or  to  ours,  for  advice 
and  direction.  After  again  considering  the  matter  we  think  on  the 
one  hand,  as  we  did  before,  that  while  there  is  not  much  difference 
in  the  distance  from  here  or  from  Bethlehem  to  Indiana,  yet  the 
postal  facilities  are  better  and  the  transportation  cheaper  from  Penn- 
sylvania, and  so  it  would  be  better  to  have  the  work  supervised  from 
there.  On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  remembered  that  those  who 
have  moved  thither  are  all  North  Carolinians,  for  whom  it  would  be  dear 
and  interesting  to  maintain  the  connection  with  us  and  with  their 
friends  here,  and  they  would  always  prefer  to  have  teachers  from  here 
who  were  accustomed  to  the  same  customs,  manner  of  living,  and 
church  observances,  as  they  have  already  said,  and  they  have  suggest- 
ed several  Brethren.  Moreover  the  success  of  the  undertaking  there 
demands  that  the  Minister,  along  with  other  necessary  qualifications, 
must  be  a  good  business  man,  and  it  seems  hardly  likely  that  such 
a  man  can  be  found  in  Pennsylvania.  All  of  this  argues  on  the  other 
side.  In  order  not  to  decide  in  too  much  haste,  but  to  look  ahead 
and  consider  the  matter  well,  Br.  Bechler  will  send  these  our  thoughts 
to  Br.  Anders  for  the  P.  E.  C.  there,  in  order  that  each  may  learn  the 
opinion  of   the  other   before  the   matter   is   closed. 

Sept.  23,  i8?9.  As  collections  of  various  kinds  are  often  taken  up 
in  our  town  we  cannot  interfere  with  the  efforts  of  Br.  Jacob  Schulz — 
who  has  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  Indiana, — to  secure  private 
contributions  toward  the  erection  of  a  plain  meeting  house  in  Henrix 
[Hendricks]  County,  Indiana.  Some  of  our  neighbors  have  moved 
thither,  and  are  too  far  from  Hope,  although  Br.  Martin  Häuser  has 
visited  them  several  times  a  year.  Br.  Philips  has  given  two  acres 
of  land  as  a  site  for  the  house,  and  for  a  Graveyard,  for  those  who 
live   there. 

May  4,  1840.  Some  time  ago  Br.  Martin  Häuser  asked  the  local 
P.  E.  C.  for  permission  to  send  his  two  youngest  daughters  to  school 
here,  where  he  has  many  friends.  The  request  came  through  the  P. 
E.  C.  in  Bethlehem,  in  which  Province  he  is  working  as  a  minister. 
The  answer  has  been  sent  that  in  view  of  his  former  service  here  the 
daughters  will  each  be  allowed  $50.00  a  year,  and  Br.  Häuser  himself 
must  pay  the  balance.  Br.  Van  Vleck  will  write  to  Br.  Häuser  that 
we  will  take  his  daughters  on  these  conditions,  if  place  can  be  found 
for  them  in  the  town,   for  the  boarding  school  is   full. 

Sept.  25,  1840.  A  letter  from  Br.  Martin  Häuser  at  Hope,  Indiana, 
states  that  he  plans  to  visit  here  in  October,  with  his  six  children, 
bringing  his  two  youngest  daughters  to  the  school  here. 

May  8,  184 1.  The  question  arises  regarding  Brethren  from  Wach- 
ovia who  have  moved  to  Illinois : — would  it  not  be  worth  the  trouble  to 
do  as  was  done  in  Hope,  Indiana,  and  have  the  Unity  buy  some  Sec- 
tions of  land,  and  its  value  would  soon  double,  and  it  would  provide 
place  for  the  building  of  a  school  house,  and  other  buildings?  Our 
idea  is  that  there  would  be  no  objection  to  the  buying  of  some  Sec- 
tions of  land  if  that  were  all  there  would  be  to  it.  So  long  as  those 
settlers  were  satisfied  with  their  own  services  it  would  be  all  right ; 
but  soon  they  would  ask  for  Brethren  who  could  administer  the  Sac- 
raments, and  then  they  would  want  a  stationed  minister,  which  would 
bring  with  it  heavy  expense  and  many  difficulties,  as  has  been  the 
case  at   Hope. 

As  Br.  Van  Vleck  is  writing  to  Br.  Benade  he  shall  do  well,  per- 
haps, to  mention  our  thoughts  about  the  Illinois  matter,  and  he  might 
ask  whether  the  P.  E.  C.  there  would  be  willing  to  instruct  Br.  Martin 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  211 

Hauser  to  extend  his  Diaspora  journeys  to  Edwards  County,  111.,  that 
he  might  visit  the  settlers  from  Wachovia,  and  that  they  would  take 
further  consideration  of  this  matter   into  their  hands. 

June  2$,  1841.  Two  letters  have  been  received  from  Br.  Benade. 
The  P.  E.  C.  in  Bethlehem  have  considered  the  matter  of  the  settlers  in 
Edwards  County,  111.,  will  send  either  Br.  Ebermann  or  Häuser  there 
on  a  visit,  and  will  buy  several  lots  of  land.14 

The  manuscript  journal  of  Lewis  David  von  Schweinitz' 
trip  to  Indiana  of  which  a  translation  is  here  presented  is  in 
the  Archiv  der  Brüder-Unitat  in  Herrnhut,  Saxony.15  It  was 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Indiana  Historical  Society 
by  Dr.  Adolf  Gerber,  formerly  of  Earlham  College,  who  has 
supplied  a  copy  of  the  original  German  text  as  well  as  the 
English  translation.16  Dr.  Gerber  states  that  von  Schweinitz 
completed  his  report  in  August,  1831,  a  month  after  his  jour- 
ney, and  that  it  or  a  copy  of  it  was  sent  from  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania,  to  Herrnhut.  The  manuscript  in  the  archives  of 
the  United  Brethren  at  Herrnhut  has  marginal  corrections 
and  bears  the  annotations,  ''ausgefertigt  L.  v.  Stz  Sept.  32" 
(submitted  by  Lewis  von  Schweinitz,  September,  1832),  and 
"zum  2t.  mal  ausgearbeitet  Dec.  1833,  L.  v.  s."  (work- 
ed over  again  December,  1833  L.  v.  S.).  This  latter  annota- 
tion refers,  according  to  Dr.  Gerber,  to  an  abridgment  of  the 
report,  which  was  submitted  to  the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference 
and  printed  in  the  Gemein  Nachrichten11  in  January,  1833. 
In  the  present  translation  marginal  corrections  on  the  manu- 
script are  incorporated  in  the  text. 

The  translation  furnished  by  Dr.  Gerber  has  been  modified 
in  the  interest  of  fluency.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  fol- 
low the  paragraphs,  and  lack  of  paragraphing,  in  the  original 
manuscript.       Notes    have     been     supplied    by    Dr.     Gerber, 


14The  Memorabilia  of  1849,  in  the  appended  statistics,  notes  that 
"New  Salem,  111.  has  95  communicants." 

15The  manuscript  is   numbered  R.   14.   A.  36  No.   37. 

16The  copy  of  the  original  German  text  is  in  the  possession  of 
the   Indiana   State  Library. 

17The  Gemein  Nachrichten  were  communications  from  the  Unity's 
Elders'  Conference  in  Germany  which  kept  the  provinces  informed  of 
the  activities  of  the  General  Synod  and  all  other  church  concerns.  A 
package  of  Nachrichten  was  received  with  great  stir  and  excitement 
in  the  early  settlements,  where  they  were  read  before  a  large  gathering 
of  the  brethren. 


212  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

George  Pence,  of  Columbus,  Irma  Ulrich,  of  the  State  His- 
torical Bureau,  and  myself.  Modern  botanical  terms  have  been 
supplied  by  Charles  C.  Deam,  state  forester  of  Indiana.  For 
financial  contributions  toward  this  publication  we  are  in- 
debted to  Charles  C.  Deam,  of  Bluffton,  and  William  G.  Ir- 
win, of  Columbus.  The  preparation  of  the  manuscript  for  the 
press  has  been  for  the  most  part  in  charge  of  Irma  Ulrich. 

Christopher  B.  Coleman, 
Secretary,  Indiana  Historical  Society 


THE  JOURNEY  OF  LEWIS  DAVID  VON  SCHWEINITZ 

FROM  BETHLEHEM,  PENNSYLVANIA,  TO 

GOSHEN,  INDIANA,  IN  1831 

Report 

Of  a  journey  undertaken,  for  the  restoration  of  his  health, 
by  Brother  Lewis  David  von  'Schweinitz,  accompanied  by 
Brother  Eugene  Alexander  Frueauf,1  on  behalf  of  the  Provin- 
cial Helpers'  Conference,2  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  con- 
gregation who  recently  settled  in  Goshen,3  Bartholomew  Coun- 
ty, Indiana,  from  North  Carolina,  and  also  our  two  congre- 
gations at  Gnadenhuetten4  and  Sharon,5  Ohio.  This  journey 
extended  from  May  31  to  July,  1831. 


^Frueauf  was  a  nephew  of  von  Schweinitz.  In  1856  he  was  ap- 
pointed administrator  of  general  church  finances,  and  in  1864  he  was 
elected  by  Synod  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors,  created  at 
that  time  as  an  advisory  council  to  the  Provincial  Elders'  Council  in 
all  concerns  of  the  college  and  theological  seminary.  He  was  later 
principal  of  Linden  Hall  Seminary,  at  Lititz,  Pennsylvania.  Hamilton, 
History  of  the  Moravian  Church,  pp.  407,  447,  485. 

2The  congregation  at  Hope,  Indiana,  belonged  to  the  northern 
province  whose  headquarters  were  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania.  The 
Provincial  Helpers'  Conferences  were  created  at  the  18th  General  Syn- 
od at  Marienborn,  in  1769,  to  govern  the  subordinate  branches  of  the 
British  and  American  provinces.  They  were  appointed  by  and  respon- 
sible to  the  Unity's  Elders'  Conference  and  not  to  the  congregations 
whose  general  interests  they  superintended.  After  1848  the  Provin- 
cial Helpers'  Conference  was  made  responsible  to  the  American  Pro- 
vincial Synod,  when  that  body  was  given  authority  to  convene  itself 
at  stated  intervals.  American  Church  History  Series,  vol.  VIII,  pp. 
468,  489  (New  York,  1894). 

3Now  the   town  of   Hope.     See   Introduction. 

4Now  spelled  Gnadenhutten,  in  Tuscarawas   County. 

5Sharon  was  founded  in  1815  through  the  efforts  of  Jacob  Blick- 
ensderfer. 

(213) 


214  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

[The  Journey  to  Madison,  Indiana] 

At  the  urgent  request  of  our  brethren  and  sisters  from 
North  Carolina  who  are  settling  in  Bartholomew  County,  In- 
diana, to  the  Provincial  Helpers'  Conference  that,  during  the 
course  of  the  summer,  they  might  be  encouraged  by  the 
visit  of  an  ordained  brother,  the  most  necessary  institutions 
be  established  among  them,  and  the  holy  sacraments  ad- 
ministered, we  promised  them  to  see  that  this  was  done.6 

As  it  was  thought  that  an  extended  journey,  which  the 
dear  brethren  urged  upon  me,  would  aid  in  the  restoration 
of  my  long-impaired  health,  and  since  I  would  have  to  take 
such  a  journey  this  spring  or  summer,  anyway,  it  seemed 
proper  to  give  it  this  direction,  so  that  at  the  same  time  the 
above  promise  might  be  fulfilled  and  the  Conference  also 
might  be  given,  from  a  personal  inspection  by  one  of  its  mem- 
bers, more  exact  knowledge  of  the  whole  situation  and  the 
important  opportunity  recommended  to  it  in  the  state  of  In- 
diana. 

Trusting  that  the  Lord  would  graciously  assist  me  in 
the  considerable  hardships  and  privations  to  be  anticipated 
upon  such  a  journey,  which  could  be  taken  only  on  the  public 
stages,  I  gladly  accepted  the  commission  given  me  by  my  dear 
colleagues,  especially  since  they  allowed  me  my  dear  nephew, 
Brother  Eugene  Frueauf,  for  a  companion.  It  would  have 
been  too  much  of  a  venture  to  undertake  such  a  journey  all 
alone. 

I  recovered  from  the  heavy  discomfiture  of  winter  in  a 
gratifying  manner  at  the  end  of  February  and  the  beginning 
of  March.  After  a  visit  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of  April, 
I  suffered  an  alarming  relapse  which,  with  the  renewal  of  the 


6Martin  Häuser  had  arrived  in  Bartholomew  County,  whither  some 
of  his  North  Carolina  neighbors  had  preceded  him,  about  the  end 
of  1829.  Von  Schweinitz  had  labored  in  North  Carolina  before  tak- 
ing up  his  work  at  Herrnhut.  See  Introduction.  A  letter  from  von 
Schweinitz  to  Häuser,  dated  at  Bethlehem,  October  29,  1830,  promising 
that  an  ordained  brother  would  visit  the  Indiana  settlement  and  stating 
that  an  appointment  of  Häuser  as  agent  was  enclosed,  is  preserved  in 
the  church  records  at  Hope.  A  photostat  of  it  is  in  the  Indiana 
State   Library. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  215 

violent  cough  that  seems  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  my  whole 
illness,  produced  a  tightness  in  my  chest,  not  felt  to  that  de- 
gree before.  I  also  felt  a  languor  of  my  mental  powers  which 
was  so  depressing  that  I  scarcely  knew  whether  I  dare  go. 
Nevertheless  I  felt  an  overpowering  impulse  to  enter  upon  the 
journey  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  who  gave  me  courage,  al- 
though I  did  not  feel  relief  until  the  eve  of  my  departure 
from  Bethlehem,  on  Ascension  Day,  May  12th.  At  the  eve- 
ning meeting  on  this  day,  I  bade  farewell  to  the  dear  con- 
gregation at  Bethlehem  and  commended  myself  and  my  com- 
mission to  their  loving  remembrance  and  prayer. 

After  a  sorrowful  but,  at  the  same  time,  hopeful  parting 
from  our  family,  we  began  our  journey  to  Philadelphia  by 
stage  coach  on  Friday  morning,  May  13th,  at  seven  o'clock, 
in  cheeringly  bright  weather.  I  had  chosen  the  roundabout 
way  through  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  in  order  not  to 
be  exposed  at  the  beginning  of  the  trip  to  the  great  and  un- 
interrupted hardships  of  a  stage  coach  journey  to  Pittsburgh, 
but  to  have  an  interval  of  some  days  of  rest ;  a  measure  which 
proved  to  be  very  wise.  The  ride  to  Philadelphia,  on  which 
for  the  most  part  we  had  little  company,  was  pleasant  and  left 
us  time  to  do  some  little  errands  and  to  make  calls  before 
night. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  14th,  we  betook  our- 
selves on  board  the  steamer  and  greeted  some  friends,  who 
introduced  us  to  several  interesting  persons  among  the  nu- 
merous passengers.  We  began  the  delightful  ride,  in  excellent 
weather,  down  the  river  to  the  new  town  of  Delaware,  a  few 
miles  below  Newcastle,  at  the  mouth  of  the  splendid  ship-canal. 
This  canal  now  connects  the  Delaware  with  the  Chesapeake 
Bay,  opposite  the  fortress  on  Peapatch,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  only  a  short  while  ago.  It  is  needless  to  give  a  de- 
tailed description  of  the  comfort,  elegance,  and  speed  of  travel 
on  these  magnificent  and  large  steamers  upon  which  one  dines 
almost  better  than  in  the  best  hotels.  It  is  also  easy  to  imag- 
ine the  charm  of  floating  down  the  river,  covered  with  ships, 


216  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

and  along  the  occasionally  beautiful  banks.  Since  the  route 
to  Baltimore  is  not  apt  to  be  overcrowded — perhaps  seventy  or 
eighty  passengers  at  most — everything  can  be  enjoyed  in  com- 
fort. As  for  conversation,  it  is  by  all  means  very  desirable 
to  be  introduced  to  some  fellow-passenger  since  otherwise, 
as  is  well  known,  in  America,  it  is  difficult  to  engage  in  con- 
versation. 

Soon  after  ten  o'clock  we  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the 
canal,  left  the  steamer,  and  went  down  a  board  walk  several 
hundred  paces  long  to  the  packetboat  lying  in  the  canal.  This 
boat  is  drawn  by  five  briskly  trotting  horses  and  is  fitted  up 
with  the  same  splendor  and  comfort.  In  spite  of  the  summer 
heat  we  remained  on  deck  most  of  the  time  and  enjoyed  the 
interesting  trip,  fourteen  English  miles  long,  right  across  the 
state  of  Delaware.  For  a  long  time  the  canal  runs  through 
great  swamps  and  ponds.  One  must  be  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  this  country  in  order  to  realize  the  difficulties  of 
the  great  enterprise  which  has  cost  over  four  million  dollars. 
These  difficulties  are  by  no  means  obvious,  as  hardly  anything 
is  seen  but  a  path,  rising  a  few  feet  above  the  water,  for  the 
horses.  To  achieve  this  was  the  great  task,  since  the  filling 
required  endless  efforts.  In  many  places  one  hundred  feet 
of  sand  were  excavated  before  firm  soil  was  reached.  A 
daily  increasing  navigation  passes  through  this  canal  from  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  to  the  Delaware,  and  vice  versa.  We  met 
a  large  number  of  vessels  which  were  all  drawn  by  horses. 
There  were  only  two  locks.  About  seven  miles  from 
the  Delaware  the  so-called  Deep  Cut,  which  is  three 
miles  long,  is  reached.  Here  the  canal  is  cut  right 
through  the  sandhills,  to  a  depth  of  one  hundred  feet 
at  the  highest  point,  and  a  wonderful  one-arch  bridge,  which 
serves  as  a  highway  across  the  canal,  extends  across  the  ex- 
cavation at  an  incredible  height.  It  requires  great  effort  to 
keep  the  sides  of  this  immense  excavation  from  caving  in. 
Soon  after  it  is  passed,  the  canal  debouches  into  Back  Creek, 
an  inlet  of  the  Chesapeake   Bay,  where  one  boards  another 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  217 

steamer,  which  is  lying  ready.  After  a  ride  of  some  length 
upon  the  narrower  branches  of  this  bay,  we  reached  its  wider 
expanse,  as  smooth  as  glass  that  day  and  covered  with  count- 
less large  and  small  craft,  and  sailed  along,  not  far  from  the 
mouths  of  its  great  rivers  such  as  the  Susquehannah.  The 
ride  becomes  supremely  beautiful  after  one  has  entered  the 
Patapsco  at  North  Point  and  approaches  the  city  of  Balti- 
more past  Fort  McHenry  and  the  Lazaretto.7  We  arrived  there 
quite  early,  having  covered  the  whole  distance  of  130  English 
miles  from  Philadelphia,  according  to  the  newspapers,  in  a 
little  less  than  ten  hours. 

I  had  intended  to  spend  Sunday,  the  15th,  quietly  in  Bal- 
timore, but  soon  found  that  I  should  have  to  wait  until  Tues- 
day morning,  unless  I  wanted  to  go  by  the  stage  coach  proper, 
which  covers  the  266  miles  to  Wheeling  on  the  Ohio  in  three 
and  a  half  days  without  nightly  stops,  which  seemed  to  me 
to  be  too  much  of  a  venture.  The  accommodation  coach, 
which  allows  nightly  rests  of  several  hours,  leaves  Baltimore 
only  every  other  day.  I  readily  agreed  to  this  delay,  for  there 
could  be  no  lack  of  pleasant  acquaintances  as  we  had  received, 
that  very  night,  a  very  kind  invitation  for  the  next  day  from 
Mr.  William  Frick,  a  highly  esteemed  lawyer  and  former 
pupil  of  Nazareth  Hall.  Apart  from  seeing  the  most  inter- 
esting things  in  the  city  during  the  next  two  days — on  Mon- 
day, we  were  often  in  the  company  of  the  Lutheran  minister, 
Mr.  Uhlhorn,  who  was  exceedingly  kind  to  us — we  spent  many 
pleasant  hours  at  Mr.  Frick's,  who  introduced  me  also  to  sev- 
eral naturalists  whom  I  did  not  yet  know  personally.  Mean- 
while Brother  Frueauf  had  an  opportunity  to  meet  again,  to 
their  mutual  pleasure,  many  of  his  former  fellow-pupils  of 
Nazareth  Hall. 

The  renewal  of  my  acquaintance  at  Mr.  Frick's,  with  Mr. 
William  Winchester,  an  old  schoolmate  of  mine,  whom  I  have 


7The  Lazaretto,  authorized  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Mary- 
land in  1801,  was  used  for  smallpox  patients.  It  is  now  used  as  a 
workshop  for  the  lighthouse  near  by,  to  which  its  name  has  been 
transferred. 


218  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

not  seen  for  almost  forty  years,  was  quite  unexpected,  but  all 
the  more  delightful,  because  I  was  under  the  impression  that 
I  had  heard  of  his  death  long  ago.  Mr.  Winchester  is  the  pres- 
ent director  of  the  city  water  works.  Besides  happily  recalling 
times  long  gone  by,  it  was  particularly  gratifying  to  me  to  hear 
from  him  the  statement  that  he  was  fully  convinced  that  he 
owed  it  to  the  deep  impressions  of  religion  received  during  his 
schooling  at  Nazareth,  that  its  heavenly  consolation  had  never 
forsaken  him  among  all  the  varying  experiences  of  life.  He 
knew  that  the  same  was  also  true  of  his  sisters,  who  were 
educated  at  Bethlehem  at  that  time  and  who  had  had  to  en- 
dure very  great  afflictions.  Of  course  the  state  of  my  health 
forbade  me  to  comply  with  Mr.  Uhlhorn's  request  to  preach 
in  his  church  on  Sunday,  just  as  I  had  to  deny  myself  all 
strenuous  walking.  From  here  I  wrote  home  for  the  first 
time  and  could  report  an  improvement  of  my  health  which 
surpassed  my  expectation. 

Early  on  the  17th  we  were  ready  for  the  carriage  which 
was  to  take  us  shortly  to  the  depot  of  the  Baltimore  Railroad,8 
recently  completed  as  far  as  this  part  is  concerned.  On  this 
route  one  travels  the  first  eleven  miles  to  Ellicott's  Mills  by 
rail  and  not  until  then  does  he  board  the  regular  stage  coach. 
This  immense  enterprise  is  to  be  continued  to  the  Ohio — and 
twenty-eight  more  miles  have  actually  been  completed  in  the 
course  of  this  summer — in  order  to  preserve  part  of  the  west- 
ern commerce  for  Baltimore.  However  greatly  exaggerated 
the  expectations  for  these  enterprises  may  be,  they  are,  never- 
theless, worthy  of  admiration.  Surely  the  owners  of  real 
estate  in  a  city  like  Baltimore  may  well  invest  several  hnudred 
thousand  dollars  in  such  enterprises  without  much  hope  of 
considerable  return  from  their  charges,  if,  thereby,  the  value 
of  their  real  estate  in  the  city  is  doubled  or  trebled.  This 
really  seems  to  be  the  way  they  are  calculating  and  it  has  al- 
ready, in  great  measure,  proved  correct.     I  am  not  in  a  posi- 


8The  Baltimore  and  Ohio.  To  von  Schweinitz,  as  late  as  May,  183 1, 
the  enterprise  consisted  of  laying  rails  so  as  to  increase  the  load  horses 
could  draw.     He   says   nothing  of   locomotives. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  219 

tion  to  describe  the  work  here,  since  we  could  make  only 
imperfect  observations  during  the  drowsy  ride  in  the  rather 
uncomfortable  railroad  coach,  which,  in  spite  of  its  size  and 
load  (about  twenty  persons),  was  drawn  by  only  one  horse. 

At  Ellicott's  Mills  we  had  an  unusually  poor  breakfast,  at 
a  very  high  price,  and  then  got  into  the  comfortable  accom- 
modation coach  running  to  Hagerstown  by  way  of  Frederic  [k]- 
town.  Through  Baltimore  and  Anne  Arundel  counties  one 
strikes  hardly  any  good  land  except  where  there  are  immense 
plantations  of  wealthy  proprietors,  as,  for  example,  that  of 
the  well-known  Charles  Caroll,  of  Carollton,  where  the  homes 
of  the  negroes  form  whole  villages;  one  also  strikes,  besides, 
a  few  miserable  looking  places  such  as  Lisbon,  New  Market, 
and  the  like.  Nevertheless,  the  entire  road  between  Hagers- 
town and  Baltimore  was  covered  with  an  unparalleled  number 
of  six-horse  teams,  all  carrying  flour  to  the  city.  We  counted 
over  three  hundred  of  them  this  day.  After  having  progressed 
a  considerable  distance  in  Frederic  [k]  County,  we  enjoyed  the 
splendid  fertile  region,  which  kept  increasing,  in  charm  and 
beauty  as  far  as  Hagerstown  in  Washington  County.  An  in- 
tervening range  of  hills  afforded  an  excellent  opportunity  for 
an  outlook,  far  and  wide,  without  interfering  much  with  the 
unusually  fine  turnpike,  upon  which  we  were  proceeding  so 
fast.  We  reached  the  town  soon  after  sunset,  after  having 
traveled  eighty  odd  miles  this  day.  We  could  enjoy  a  longer 
rest  than  we  had  expected,  because  we  did  not  start  again 
until  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  18th.  That  morning 
I  awoke  with  peculiar  feelings,  thinking  of  my  dear  wife  who 
was  celebrating  her  birthday  that  day,  and  all  day  long,  I 
was  with  her  and  my  family  in  spirit  a  great  deal. 

From  here  on  we  found  the  coach  well  filled.  The  lovely 
fertile  country  was  gradually  approaching  the  mountains, 
which,  however,  were  not  actually  to  be  traversed  this  day, 
since  the  road  descends  into  the  valley  of  the  Potomac  and 
continues  in  it  as  far  as  Hancock.  Here  the  state  of  Mary- 
land  grows    exceedingly   narrow   because,   as   is   well   known, 


220  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

the  Potomac  which  all  along  forms  the  boundary  between  it 
and  Virginia  approaches  the  southern  boundary  of  Pennsyl- 
vania within  two  or  three  miles.  Farther  west  in  Allegheny 
County  the  state  expands  again  considerably.  Although 
mountainous,  the  turnpike  remained  good;  we  made  only 
fifty-six  miles  this  day,  however,  and  spent  the  night  at  an 
isolated  inn. 

By  breakfast  time  on  the  19th  we  reached  the  town  of 
Cumberland,  where  begins  the  ill- famed  National  Road, 
which  was  to  connect  the  western  with  the  Atlantic  states 
across  the  Allegheny  Mountains.  It  was  constructed  several 
years  ago  by  enormous  appropriations  by  Congress,  and  sat- 
isfied all  requirements  by  effecting  a  welcome  improvement 
in  transportation,  but  at  present,  especially  here  in  the  moun- 
tains, it  has  relapsed  again  into  a  deplorable  state  of  decay 
in  consequence  of  the  violent  controversies  which  have  arisen 
about  it.  As  is  well  known,  a  large  party  denies  to  the 
United  States  any  constitutional  right,  even  with  the  consent 
of  the  individual  states,  to  spend  money  on  internal  improve- 
ments, since  this  is  the  business  of  the  indvidual  states;  just 
as  it  is  admitted  there  exists  no  right  to  levy  turnpike  tolls. 
The  latter  fact  has  prevented  the  necessary  annual  repairs 
of  the  National  Road  because  new  appropriations  for  it  were, 
for  the  most  part,  refused.  A  large  part  of  the  road  has 
therefore  got  into  such  a  condition  that  it  is  inadvisable,  on 
account  of  the  cost  of  the  repairs  immediately  devolving  upon 
them,  for  the  states  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania  to  take 
it  over  from  the  federal  government,  as  the  state  of  Ohio 
has  lately  done  with  its  part  of  the  road,  which  is  still  in 
good  condition.  Travelers  to  whom,  as  to  us,  the  beginning 
of  this  great  work  is  indicated  by  a  loaded  wagon,  lying  com- 
pletely overturned  at  the  bottom  of  a  sharp,  deep  incline,  and 
whose  bones  are  jolted  to  pieces  on  the  terribly  torn-up  road, 
would  find  less  difficulty  in  overcoming  the  constitutional 
scruples  which  prevent  the  repairs  of  this  road  than  do  the 
gentlemen  in  Congress  in  their  upholstered  seats.     It  is  to  be 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  221 

greatly  regretted  that  the  millions  spent  on  it  in  so  useful 
a  way  must  be  regarded  as  thrown  away.  At  times  it  was 
better  to  go  on  foot.  I  could  not,  however,  do  this  very  long, 
although  it  afforded  me  much  botanical  enjoyment  in  the 
higher  mountain  regions  where,  by  the  way,  the  oaks  and 
similar  trees  were  just  beginning  to  put  forth  their  foliage. 
In  addition  we  had  a  severe  thunderstorm  and  a  rather 
heavy  rain.  About  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  entered 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania  and  spent  the  night  at  Smithfield  in 
a  romantic  mountain  valley. 

The  ride  on  the  20th  began  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and,  as  the  condition  of  the  road  improved,  it  soon  grew  very 
interesting.  From  the  crest  of  the  last  Allegheny  Mountain 
range,  Laurel  Hill,  one  enjoys  an  incomparably  wide  and 
splendid  outlook  over  the  western  country,  and  finds  that  he 
is  now  in  the  great  Mississippi  Valley  into  which  all  streams 
west  of  the  mountains  are  gathered.  At  the  important  town 
of  Union9  in  Fayette  County,  the  Yohiogany10  is  crossed  and 
at  Brownsville,  whence  steamboats  go  to  Pittsburgh,  the  Mo- 
nongahela  is  crossed  by  ferry.  Fayette  and  Washington 
counties  are  distinguished  by  very  charming,  cultivated,  but 
quite  hilly  regions,  in  which  unusually  extensive  sheep  breed- 
ing is  to  be  seen.  In  the  county  seat  of  the  latter,  which 
has  the  same  name,  a  large  steam  mill  was  burnt  in  the  pre- 
ceding night.  We  found  excellent  night  lodgings  there  and 
since  there  was  not  any  hurry,  we  did  not  proceed  upon  our 
journey  to  Wheeling  until  after  breakfast  on  the  21st. 

The  road  here  is  still  in  a  passable  condition  and  exceed- 
ingly charming,  in  part  even  romantic.  Right  after  the  little 
town  of  West  Alexandria,  which  was  almost  entirely  burnt 
down  two  weeks  ago,  we  reached  the  state  of  Virginia,11  a 
long  narrow  strip  of  which  penetrates  far  north  between  the 
straight  west  line  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Ohio.    At  the  same 


9Uniontown. 

10The    Youghiogheny    flows    east  of    Uniontown    which    is    on    a 
smaller  tributary  of  it. 

iaThis  region  is  now  a  part — the  "Panhandle" — of   West  Virginia. 


222  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

time  we  reached  the  valley  of  Wheeling  Creek,  which,  after 
two  o'clock,  we  crossed  perhaps  thirty  times  on  small  bridges, 
finally  reaching  the  town  of  Wheeling  on  the  great  Ohio 
River. 

I  planned  to  embark  here  on  the  Ohio  and  to  make  the 
journey  as  far  as  Madison,  in  the  state  of  Indiana,  by  water. 
After  spending  the  remainder  of  the  day  pleasantly  and  rest- 
ing well  after  the  ride,  which  had  been  much  less  fatiguing 
than  I  expected,  we  awaited  a  steamer  on  a  rainy  Whitsunday, 
the  22nd.  A  large  number  of  these  vessels,  of  from  one  to 
five  hundred  tons,  are  constantly  plying  the  river  from  Pitts- 
burgh down  to  Louisville  and  even  all  the  way  to  New  Or- 
leans. At  places  like  Wheeling  they  generally  put  to  shore 
to  see  whether  passengers  are  to  be  had.  Of  course,  how- 
ever, they  cannot  keep  any  definite  hours  and  it  is  necessary 
to  wait  till  a  boat  going  in  the  desired  direction  appears. 
The  "Potomac,"  with  Captain  Stone  in  command,  appeared  soon 
after  ten  o'clock ;  it  was,  to  be  sure,  One  of  the  smaller  steam- 
ers, yet  had  excellent  furnishings.  We  therefore  did  not  find 
it  worth  while  to  wait  for  a  larger  one  and  agreed  with  the 
captain  on  ten  dollars  a  person  for  the  passage  to  Louisville, 
Kentucky,  at  the  great  falls  of  the  Ohio,  a  distance  of  550 
English  miles,  which  he  hoped  to  cover  within  three  and  a 
half  days.  Board,  which  is  as  good  as  at  the  best  inns,  is 
included  in  that  rate.  We  had  decided  to  go  all  the  way 
to  Louisville,  although  it  is  fifty  odd  miles  farther  than  nec- 
essary, because  otherwise  we  should  have  arrived  too  early 
at  Madison  to  go  immediately  on  the  stage  coach  into  the 
interior.  The  cost  was  only  slightly  increased  thereby,  and  it 
was  desirable  to  see  this  important  commercial  town  in  Ken- 
tucky. 

By  far  the  most  of  the  steamers  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
are  so-called  high  pressure  boats,  from  which  superfluous 
steam  escapes  every  minute  automatically  through  a  pipe, 
making  a  fearful  noise,  which  in  still  weather  and  evenings 
can  be  heard  over  four  miles  on  the  river.     The  whole  con- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  223 

struction  of  these  vessels  is  very  different  from  that  of  the 
steamers  on  the  northern  rivers.  The  larger  ones  have  three 
decks,  rising  one  above  the  other,  the  length  of  a  frigate. 
The  cabins  for  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  are  usually  on  the 
upper  deck;  on  ours,  they  were  on  the  lower,  back  of  the  en- 
gines. All  are  equipped  not  only  for  passengers,  but  also  for 
heavy  freight,  as  they  carry  an  immense  trade.  They  are, 
nevertheless,  always  crowded  with  passengers  because,  besides 
the  large  number  in  the  cabins,  crowds  of  deck  passengers, 
emigrants,  and  so  forth — often  with  horses  and  wagons — make 
use  of  them. 

Life  on  such  a  steamer  is  quite  unique.  The  throng  of 
people,  the  noise  of  the  steam,  the  continuous,  pulsating  vibra- 
tion ;  the  changing  scenes  of  the  glorious,  almost  wholly  wood- 
ed, hilly  banks  of  the  gigantic  river,  which  here  and  there 
form  valleys,  either  receding  or  approaching,  with  newly  set- 
tled towns  and  active  cultivation  frequently  seen  on  both 
sides;  charming  groups  of  islands  around  which  one  navigates 
with  great  caution  to  avoid  hidden  snags  and  dangers  of  all 
sorts ;  the  close  perpendicular  river  banks,  always  the  same, 
with  their  denuded,  horizontal  stratifications — all  these  make  a 
combination  which  one  must  see  and  hear  in  order  to  com- 
prehend, especially  to  realize  the  impression  one  gets  when 
these  scenes  remain  almost  entirely  the  same  for  days  and 
nights.  The  cabins  and  berths,  usually  most  elegantly  deco- 
rated, are  fitted  up  as  comfortably  as  can  possibly  be  desired, 
and  nowhere  is  an  opportunity  wanting  to  spend  the  time 
pleasantly  in  viewing  the  interesting  scenes. 

Very  often  a  short  stop  is  made  in  order  to  replenish, 
from  the  long  rows  of  corded  wood  piled  up  for  this  purpose 
all  along  the  bank,  the  stock  on  board,  which  is  kept  small  in 
order  not  to  lose  space  for  freight.  Vessels  going  upstream, 
however,  take  flatboats,  lying  ready  for  this  purpose,  loaded 
with  wood,  with  them  for  some  distance  until  their  supply  is 
hauled  aboard;  then  the  flatboats  can  easily  go  back  to  their 
places  with  the  current.     From  time  to  time  calls  are  made 


224  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

at  small  towns,  where  passengers,  and  occasionally  also  freight, 
are  taken  on  and  off ;  and  whenever  a  signal  is  given  from 
the  bank,  the  small  boat  puts  off  to  pick  up  passengers  who 
desire  to  come  along.  When  one  becomes  accustomed  to  the 
noise  of  the  steam  and  the  pulsating  vibrations,  one  enjoys  a 
good  rest  by  night  and  day  in  the  comfortable  berths. 

Aside  from  the  steamers,  the  river  is  still  plied  by  many 
keelboats  and  flatboats  which  come  principally  from  the  smaller 
streams  flowing  into  it,  but  they  go  almost  exclusively  down- 
stream. Frequently  we  meet  other  steamers  which  are  a  won- 
derful sight,  especially  by  night,  as  their  fire  is  seen  from 
afar.  On  the  steep  banks  close  at  hand,  there  is  an  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  closely  the  origin  of  the  dangerous  snags 
which  hinder  navigation  so  much  on  the  Ohio  and  still  more 
on  the  Mississippi.  Everywhere  are  to  be  seen  living  and 
dead  trees,  of  large  and  medium  size,  the  whole  root  system 
of  which  has  gradually  been  denuded  of  all  earth;  they  are 
swept  into  the  river  by  the  high  floods.  The  weight  of  the 
entanglement,  which  hangs  on  the  roots,  sinks  them  somewhere 
and  causes  them  to  get  fastened  in  the  mud  at  the  bottom. 
The  branches  soon  break  off  and  the  trunk  stays,  retaining  a 
slanting  position  in  the  direction  of  the  current.  It  knocks 
most  dangerous  holes  in  vessels,  which,  going  upstream  dur- 
ing the  night  or  in  a  fog,  happen  upon  such  a  snag,  as  it  is 
called.  In  the  course  of  this  year  several  of  the  largest  steam- 
ers on  the  Mississippi  have  been  wrecked  in  this  way.  In 
dense  fog  it  is  therefore  customary  to  anchor,  especially  when 
going  upstream. 

It  is  strange  how  insignificant  the  mouths  of  the  large 
rivers,  such  as  the  Muskingum,  Scioto,  and  the  Miami  on  the 
Ohio  side,  and  the  two  Kanawhas  and  the  Kentucky  on  the 
opposite  side,  appear,  principally  on  account  of  the  deep  in- 
dentations into  which  they  flow  and  which  are  generally  seen 
only  at  an  angle.  However  interesting  such  a  trip  may  be, 
one  still  needs  reading  matter  to  keep  from  becoming  bored, 
if  it  lasts  for  days,  just  as  on  the  ocean. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  225 

On  the  24th,  about  half  past  two  o'clock,  we  made  the 
first  stop  of  any  length  at  the  exceedingly  beautiful  city  of 
Cincinnati,  which  contains  almost  30,000  inhabitants.  We  re- 
mained here  a  couple  of  hours  since  part  of  the  cargo  had 
to  be  unloaded.  We  availed  ourselves  of  the  opportunity  to 
look  around  a  little  in  the  city,  but  only  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  curious  landing  place  where  the  steep  river  bank,  paved 
and  graded  off  to  a  sloping  surface,  forms  a  large  square  sur- 
rounded by  buildings,  which,  by  the  time  we  arrived  here 
again  on  our  return,  had  been  almost  consumed  by  fire.  Little 
distress  was  shown,  however,  because  the  buildings  were  of 
small  value  and  now  are  to  be  replaced  by  large,  magnificent 
ones. 

Very  early  in  the  morning  of  the  25th,  we  arrived  at 
Madison,  where  again  freight  and  passengers  were  landed, 
and  then  we  proceeded  at  high  speed  to  Louisville.  From  the 
beginning  of  our  boat  trip,  down  to  below  Cincinnati,  we  had 
the  states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  on  our  right  side ;  on  our  left, 
we  had  Virginia  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sandy  River,  and 
then  Kentucky.  The  name  of  a  certain  little  town  below  Madi- 
son we  learned,  curiously  enough,  was  Bethlehem.  It  is,  in- 
deed, quite  strange  how  the  same  place-names  are  repeated 
innumerable  times  in  the  West,  to  the  great  inconvenience  and 
uncertainty  of  addresses.  Washington,  Columbus  and  Colum- 
bia, Salem,  and  Alexandria  are  names  met  with  almost  every 
other  day,  as  if  no  new  names  could  be  invented  any  more. 
It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  often  euphonious  Indian 
geographical  names  are  so  rarely  used,  especially  for  the  rivers. 
To  change  the  designation  of  the  second  branch  of  the  Mus- 
kingum, which  together  with  Tuscarawas,  forms  this  river, 
from  the  Indian  Walhonding  into  White  Woman  is  bad  taste.12 

The  approach  to  Louisville,  the  flourishing  and  leading 
commercial  city  of  Kentucky,  was  very  pleasant.  Only  when 
the  landing  is  reached — where  we  counted  eighteen  steamers 


12The  name  Walhonding  is  now  used.     The   Walhonding  and  the 
Tuscarawas   unite   at   Coshocton. 


226  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

at  that  time — does  one  see  the  loud-roaring,  rocky  reef  which 
here  interrupts  the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  and  changes  its 
otherwise  quiet  current  into  raging  waters.  The  level  of  the 
river  was  at  that  time  still  too  high  to  admire  the  beauty  of 
this  cataract;  indeed,  at  the  very  highest  level,  it  disappears 
almost  entirely.  A  two-mile  canal,  cut  through  the  rocks  from 
Louisville,  has  now  been  completed  at  great  cost,  so  that  the 
steamers  from  New  Orleans  can  now  go  up  to  the  town,  in- 
stead of  being  compelled  as  formerly  to  remain  at  Shippings- 
port  to  unload. 

We  found  accommodations  in  a  very  elegant  hotel  and 
on  this  day  and  the  following,  we  examined  everything  note- 
worthy and  worth  seeing,  in  which  we  were  aided  by  the 
courtesy  of  a  merchant,  Mr.  Danforth,  to  whom  we  were 
recommended.  The  canal,  its  locks,  and  the  immense  com- 
mercial activity  formed  a  prominent  part  of  the  sights.  The 
town  itself  contains  many  fine  buildings  and  is  quite  large. 
Below  the  falls,  on  the  opposite  side  in  the  state  of  Indiana, 
there  is  also  a  considerable  town,  New  Albany. 

[In  Indiana] 

As  we  were  very  anxious  not  to  miss  the  stage  coach, 
which,  according  to   Brother   Martin   Häuser,13  left  Madison 


13Martin  Häuser,  virtually  the  founder  of  the  Moravian  Church 
and  first  postmaster  of  the  village,  was  born  September  23,  1799,  at 
Salem,  North  Carolina.  In  1821  he  joined  the  Moravian  Church  by 
confirmation;  in  1822  he  was  married  to  Susanna  Chitty.  He  made 
three  trips  west,  visiting  his  brother,  Jacob,  in  Indiana  in  1820;  Gnaden- 
hutten,  Ohio,  in  1827 ;  and  Indiana  again  in  1828.  Receiving  encourage- 
ment from  von  Schweinitz  in  a  conference  at  Bethlehem  in  the  spring 
of  1829,  he  left  Salem  with  his  wife,  September  29,  1829,  arriving  at 
Bartholomew  County,  October  28.  He  entered  a  quarter  section  on 
Haw  Creek,  and  receiving  $200  from  von  Schweinitz,  entered  the  land 
on  which  Hope  was  laid  out.  He  organized  a  Sunday  school  and 
church.  On  March  19,  1833,  he  was  ordained  deacon  at  Bethelehem. 
He  received  no  salary  as  minister  at  Hope.  In  1838  he  resigned  his 
charge  there,  but  continued  to  visit  Moravian  groups  at  Enon,  Tough 
Creek,  New  Holland,  Coleman's  and  Warren's  schoolhouses,  and  in 
Hendricks  County.  In  1846  he  was  finally  granted  permission  to  or- 
ganize a   society  at   Enon,   five  miles   south  of   Hope. 

In  1847  he  was  sent  to  Edwards  County,  Illinois,  where  he  founded 
New  Salem,  later  West  Salem.  He  preached  also  occasionally  at 
Woods  Prairie,  Wannboro,  Albion,  and  Olney.  His  wife  died  May  2, 
1867.     On  June  21,  1868,  he  married  Eliza  Spaugh,  widow,  and  spent 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  227 

for  Columbus  every  Saturday,  we  decided  to  start  on  our 
return  journey  about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  on  the  26th, 
on  our  steamer,  the  "Potomac,"  which  was  returning  with  cargo. 
This  afforded  us  the  enjoyment  of  an  indescribably  glorious 
moonlight  evening  on  the  river  until  late  into  the  night — 
followed,  however,  by  an  unsatisfactory  rest,  which  was  in- 
terrupted two  hours  sooner  than  necessary  by  the  false  report 
that  we  had  arrived  at  Madison,  when  it  was  only  London. 
We  actually  arrived  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when 
we  were  disembarked  with  our  baggage  in  great  haste  upon  a 
floating  pier  or  wharf,  provided  with  a  watchman.  Fortunate- 
ly, however,  we  found  a  porter  who  carried  our  things  to  Mr. 
Pugh's  Inn  in  town.  There  we  at  once  learned  that,  owing 
to  impassable  roads  and  missing  bridges,  the  stage  coach  had 
not  yet  been  able  to  run  this  year,  but  that  it  was  expected 
to  do  so  for  the  first  time  four  days  later.  As  there  was  no 
other  way  of  getting  to  Bartholomew  County,  we  had  to  re- 
sign ourselves  to  this  tedious  delay,  which  promised  to  be  de- 
prived of  part  of  its  disagreeableness  by  several  letters  of  in- 
troduction which  I  had  to  gentlemen  of  this  place.  When 
we  finally  went  to  breakfast  at  seven  o'clock,  we  were  not 
a  little  surprised  to  see  our  Bethlehem  friend,  Captain  Schulz, 
of  the  cavalry,  who  is  established  in  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati. 
He  was  here  on  business  and  remained  until  the  evening  of 
the  following  day. 

In  the  course  of  the  forenoon,  I  delivered  to  Mr.  [William] 
Hendricks,  senator  of  the  United  States,  my  letter  of  intro- 
duction addressed  to  him,  whereupon  he  informed  us  that,  at 
ten  o'clock  that  morning,  there  commenced  a  so-called  four 
days'  "meeting"  of  the  Presbyterians  and  took  me  to  church 
with  him  at  once.  Such  "meetings"  are  held  everywhere  to 
produce  revivals  and  were  continued  daily  during  our  entire 
stay  here  without  interruption,  save  for  meals  and  short  inter- 
missions, from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  after  eleven 


most  of  the  rest  of  his  life  at  Hope.     He  died  on  October  25,   1875. 
Häuser  Diary,  photostat  copy  in  the  Indiana  State  Library. 


228  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

o'clock  at  night.  After  a  very  brief  address  several  members 
of  the  church  were  asked  to  offer  prayer,  and  hymns  were 
sung  in  the  intermissions.  Sometimes,  also,  members  of  the 
congregation  were  asked  to  sing  a  hymn,  which  they  did,  but 
it  was  always  the  same,  "Alas!  and  did  my  Savior  bleed." 
Then  the  various  ministers  present  likewise  offered  long  pray- 
ers, sang  hymns,  and  delivered  very  eloquent  sermons.  After 
the  first  prayer  meeting,  at  which,  among  others,  a  venerable 
old  man  offered  a  touching  evangelical  prayer  in  simple,  heart- 
felt language — which  unfortunately  he  repeated  just  the  same 
way  every  day — Mr.  Hendricks  introduced  me  to  Mr.  John- 
ston,14 the  Presbyterian  minister  here,  and  several  other  gen- 
tlemen, all  members  of  the  church,  the  ones  to  whom  I  had 
my  letters  of  introduction  to  deliver.  They  expressed  them- 
selves pleased  to  see  me  here,  but  could  not  take  any  other 
notice  of  me  under  the  circumstances. 

Owing  to  my  misunderstanding  a  question  which  Mr.  John- 
s[t]on  asked  me,  I  had  the  terrible  experience  at  the  close 
of  the  sermon,  when  it  was  already  two  o'clock,  to  hear  an- 
nounced from  the  pulpit  that  a  Moravian  preacher  present 
would  preach  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I  felt  en- 
tirely unable  to  do  so,  particularly  after  a  sleepless  night, 
without  any  preparation  and  without  knowledge  of  the  spirit 
reigning  here,  of  which  so  far  I  had  received  the  impression 
that,  though  it  aimed  at  the  Good,  it  sought  to  force  it  and 
bring  it  about  in  a  manner  with  which  I  could  by  no  means 
agree.  I  therefore  felt  obliged  to  correct  this  error  in  public 
and  to  allege  among  other  reasons  the  state  of  my  health, 
which   forbade   me   to   preach   in   public  at   the   time — and   it 


14The  Reverend  James  Harvey  Johnston,  a  graduate  of  Princeton 
Theological  Seminary,  arrived  at  Madison  in  1824  as  representative  of 
the  Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  New  York.  He  was  a  pastor  at 
Madison  for  eighteen  years.  After  1843  Crawfordsville  was  the  center 
of  his  activities.  He  died  in  1876  after  a  service  in  Indiana  of  fifty- 
one  years — the  longest  in  the  annals  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
state.  See  Edson,  Harrford  A.,  Contributions  to  the  Early  History  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Indiana,  together  with  Biographical  Notices 
<vf  the  Pioneer  Ministers,  Index  (Cincinnati,  Indianapolis,  Chicago, 
1898). 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  229 

certainly  would  have  had  the  most  injurious  consequences  to 
me  on  account  of  the  inevitable  great  uneasiness  in  which  I 
should  have  been.  This  reason  had  to  be  accepted,  but  it 
also  necessarily  precluded  my  mounting  the  pulpit  on  any  of 
the  following  days,  when  it  might  have  been  possible.  How- 
ever, Mr.  Johns  [t]  on  very  kindly  took  me  to  his  small  dwell- 
ing with  him  and  kept  me  for  dinner,  where  also  Mr.  Cush- 
man,  the  delegate  of  the  Society  from  Cincinnati  which  is 
carrying  on  these  efforts,  was  staying.  Although  when  I  left 
his  house,  Mr.  Johns  [t]  on  invited  me  to  call  often — since  it 
was  impossible  for  me  to  remain  the  whole  time  at  the  church 
— I  could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  inconvenience  him  again, 
especially  since  more  and  more  ministers  arrived  and  over- 
crowded his  house.  Furthermore,  I  could  not  possibly  feel 
called  upon  to  take  part  in  these  proceedings,  as  oftentimes  I 
could  not  have  done  so  without  denying  my  convictions. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  cannot  deny,  indeed,  that  the  teachings 
propounded  contained  the  gospel,  and  some  of  the  discourses 
heard  during  that  time — for  I  spent  all  the  forenoons  at  the 
church — were  truly  evangelical  and  edifying.  Others,  to  the 
contrary,  which  were  intended  to  arouse  the  sinners,  either 
wholly  kept  from  them  Him  who  has  come  to  seek  and  save 
what  is  lost,  or  else  put  Him  in  the  background.  The  angry 
Jehovah,  however,  represented  as  an  avenger,  was  described 
in  fearful  manner  as  endeavoring  to  strike  them  down  before 
they  reached  refuge.  The  love  of  Jesus  for  the  repenting  sin- 
ner, which  attracts  him  and  encourages  him  when  he  is  weary 
and  heavily  laden,  to  seek  refuge  with  Him,  was  not  mentioned 
at  all  or  only  quite  incidentally. 

On  Sunday  afternoon  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated, 
for  which  a  solemn  invitation  was  issued  to  all  who  wished  to 
partake  in  it,  without  distinction  of  denomination,  provided 
they  were  communicants  of  a  church  which  accepted  a  long 
series  of  precepts,  which  were  pronounced  so  indistinctly  that 
I  understood  but  few  of  them.  I  was  not  without  concern, 
that   my   standing   back  and  taking   little   part   therein   might 


230  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

make  a  disadvantageous  impression,  particularly  after  the  pub- 
lic announcement  made  known  to  the  whole  town  that  I  was 
a  minister,  but  I  felt  unable  to  take  part  without  doing  vio- 
lence to  my  convictions.  I  refrained,  however,  from  all  com- 
ment on  the  manifold  and  varied  remarks  which  I  overheard, 
the  most  painful  of  which  concerned  the  everyday  life  of 
many  of  the  most  zealous  participants  in  this  movement. 

From  Sunday  on,  when  those  in  whom  the  Spirit  was 
manifest,  were  repeatedly  asked  to  come  forward  in  public,  the 
prayers  and  discourses  were  most  eagerly  directed  at  produc- 
ing expressions  of  revival.  Some  young  women  had  finally 
stepped  up  in  the  evening  and  were  worked  upon,  in  public 
and  in  private,  with  indescribable  zeal.  During  the  whole  time 
the  church  was  crowded. 

On  Monday,  the  30th,  without  any  noticeable  interference 
with  the  meetings,  a  very  large  muster  of  militia  was  held,  at 
which  a  number  of  candidates  at  the  impending  elections  for 
Congress,  state  governor,  and  Assembly,  made  speeches  to 
the  people  and  great  excesses  were  committed.  Although  no 
drinks  at  all  are  served  in  respectable  inns,  I  have  rarely  seen 
so  many  people  drunk  and  nowhere  so  many  brawls  and  rows, 
for  the  populace  of  Indiana  develops  a  fearful  rudeness  on 
such  occasions. 

The  somewhat  painful  situation  in  which  I  was  placed 
under  these  circumstances  did  not  make  this  four  days'  stay 
agreeable,  particularly  as  there  was  wholly  lacking  a  suitable 
place  in  which  to  sit  down  at  the  inn,  and  I  longed  exceedingly 
to  go  further.  For  this  reason,  we  felt  not  a  little  embarrassed, 
when,  instead  of  the  expected  stage  coach,  news  came  Monday 
evening  by  the  arriving  postman  that  it  was  still  impossible 
to  get  through  and  that  we  should  have  to  wait  again  until 
Friday.  This  induced  us  to  try  our  utmost  to  get  off  in 
some  other  way.  The  landlord  was  willing  to  let  us  have  his 
two  horses,  but  all  efforts  to  get  hold  of  a  conveyance  were 
of  no  avail,  because  in  this  country  it  is  not  customary  to 
travel  otherwise  than  on  horseback.     Finally  our  landlord  was 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  231 

so  kind  as  to  have  the  bed  of  a  large  winter  sleigh  fastened 
on  the  wheels  of  a  wagon  and  so  to  form  a  vehicle  in  which 
it  was  possible  to  travel  after  a  fashion.  It  was  a  great  pleas- 
ure to  us  that  a  young  Swiss,  Mr.  Zehender,  of  a  Bernese 
family,  who  had  served  in  a  Dutch  Swiss  regiment,  now  re- 
organized, and  who  was  staying  in  this  vicinity  for  pleasure, 
joined  our  party  to  Columbus  and  thereby  lightened  our  ex- 
penses. We  not  only  had  many  very  interesting  conversations 
with  him — he  was  well  acquainted  in  Montmirail,  where  two 
of  his  sisters  were  educated — but  our  suppers  were  improved 
by  his  hunting  along  the  road,  because  he  did  not  miss  any  of 
the  edible  small  game,  such  as  squirrels,  snipes,  or  rabbits, 
which  we  happened  on  to.  It  should  be  mentioned  that  in 
Madison  and  vicinity  several  Swiss  families  have  settled,  who 
were  all  very  friendly  towards  us. 

About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  began  our  journey 
in  a  northerly  direction  in  very  hot  weather.  On  an  exceed- 
ingly narrow,  steep  road,  made  almost  impassable  by  deep 
ruts,  we  wound  our  way  slowly  up  the  hills  which  everywhere 
skirt  the  Ohio  more  or  less  closely.  Halfway  up,  in  order  to 
get  past,  we  had  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  a  wagon  drawn 
by  six  oxen  which  had  got  stuck.  The  crest  of  the  hills 
consists  of  vertical  rocky  walls.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  the 
whole  Mississippi  Valley  all  stratifications  without  exception 
are  perfectly  horizontal  and  nowhere  have  an  inclined  position, 
as  in  our  country.  When  one  reaches  the  top,  the  country 
expands  into  a  broad  plain,  with  only  here  and  there  deep 
valleys  of  creeks  and  rivers,  and  one  soon  begins  to  admire 
the  immense  height  and  thickness  of  the  trees.  To  be  sure 
the  woods  are  quite  vast  everywhere,  but  great  was  our  as- 
tonishment at  the  quantity  of  land  already  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation  and  at  the  frequency  of  the  plantations.  We  had 
a  pretty  good  road  for  the  first  eight  or  twelve  miles,  as  far  as 
to  a  private  house,  where  quite  a  refreshing  dinner  was  served 
to  us.  From  there  on  it  became  exceedingly  difficult.  For 
long  distances  it  passes  through  wet,  swampy,  though  not  in- 


232  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

fertile,  beech  woods,  over  an  almost  continuous  so-called  cor- 
duroy bridge,  which  was,  moreover,  in  a  very  ruinous  condi- 
tion, so  that  one  was  almost  jolted  to  pieces.  On  this  account, 
my  companions  traveled  much  on  foot.  Yet  everywhere  it 
proved  possible  to  get  through  all  right,  and  we  reached  our 
first  lodging-place,  Vernon,  the  capital  of  Jennings  County,  in 
good  time.  There  had  been  a  muster  there  that  day,  and 
sad  scenes  of  drunkenness  could  be  observed  everywhere;  yet 
we  were  excellently  entertained,  in  part,  with  our  own  game, 
and  had  good  lodgings. 

We  started  rather  early  on  June  1st  to  continue  our  jour- 
ney of  about  twenty-five  miles,  which  from  all  sides  we  heard 
described  in  such  a  manner  that  we  were  well  prepared  to 
experience  something  unusual.  And  that  was  really  the  case. 
The  almost  endless  corduroy  road  was  constantly  interrupted 
by  immense  holes  into  which  our  wagon  many  times  jolted 
down  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the  hard  road,  so  that  the  horses 
sank  to  their  bellies  in  mud :  often  they  were  in  such  a  condi- 
tion that  it  was  impossible  to  get  through  at  all.  We  then 
turned  unhesitatingly  into  the  most  dense  wood  with  tangled 
underbrush  and  after  a  long,  roundabout  way,  during  which 
the  skill  of  our  driver  in  winding  his  way  between  big,  dense 
trees  and  fallen  tree  trunks  could  not  be  admired  too  much, 
we  came  back  to  the  road  scarcely  one  hundred  paces  from 
where  we  had  entered  it.  The  same  thing  happened  when 
fallen  trees,  often  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter,  lay  clear 
across  the  road.  Needless  to  say,  under  such  circumstances  we 
progressed  very  slowly.  Sometimes  we  came  to  splendidly 
cultivated  spaces,  which,  to  be  sure,  were  only  half  cleared 
of  their  trees,  as  it  is  not  over  fifteen  years  since  the  whole 
tract  was  purchased  from  the  Indians.15  Whoever  has  not 
seen  it  before  must  marvel  at  the  rich  grain  fields  which  seem 
to  be  growing  up  in  the  midst  of  the  woods,  while  great  dead 
trees,  girded  and  burned  but  still  standing,  are  so  numerous  in 


15This  was  in  the  "New  Purchase"  secured  by  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians at  St.  Mary's  in  October,  1818. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  233 

them  that  anywhere  else  they  would  form  a  well-forested  tract. 
In  these  parts,  all  this  work  of  clearing  is  particularly  difficult, 
because  of  the  beeches  and  sugar-maple  trees,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  tulip  trees  (Liriodendron)  [Liriodendron 
tulipifera],  by  far  the  largest  of  all,  are  the  most  numerous.16 
We  often  saw  in  one  place  many  tulip  trees  with  trunks 
straight  as  an  arrow,  eighty  or  more  feet  in  height  and  five 
or  six  feet  in  diameter.  They  are  exceedingly  hard  to  kill 
and  usually  keep  putting  forth  leaves,  though  smaller  ones,  for 
two  years. 

More  than  once  we  had  to  ford  little  rivers  of  considerable 
size,  all  of  them  branches  of  White  River,  which  flows  into 
the  Wabash  at  the  western  edge  of  the  state.  Although  none 
of  them  was  difficult  to  cross  at  the  time,  it  was  easy  to 
imagine  the  difficulties  which  any  heavy  or  long  continued  rain 
produces,  for  all  of  them,  as  is  true  of  the  western  streams 
generally,  rise  extraordinarily  in  incredibly  short  time,  so  that 
often  creeks  which  seem  quite  insignificant  suddenly  detain 
one  for  days. 

We  had  our  breakfast  in  a  building  which  externally  was 
quite  an  ordinary  cabin,  built  and  roofed  with  logs.  Inside, 
however,  everything  was  very  respectable  and  even  elegant, 
as  this  building  is  the  new  town  of  Solon,17  the  printed  ad- 
vertisements  for  which  we  had  come  across  everywhere  re- 


16The  bloom  of  the  tulip  or  yellow  poplar  tree,  Liriodendron  tulipi- 
fera, is  the  state  flower  of  Indiana. 

17According  to  the  Indiana  Gazeteer  (2nd  ed.  1833),  Solon,  in  Jen- 
nings County,  was  laid  out  by  Solon  Robinson  thirteen  miles  north- 
west of  Vernon  on  the  state  road  to  Columbus.  Its  founder  moved 
there  in  1830  and  abandoned  it  in  1834.  It  must  not  be  confused  with 
the  present   Solon  in  Clark  County. 

Solon  Robinson  was  the  first  settler,  a  "squatter,"  in  Lake 
County  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  citizens  ever  resident  in  Indi- 
ana. He  was  a  pioneer  in  many  things,  but  chiefly  in  methods  of 
agriculture  and  in  the  dissemination  of  agricultural  information.  He 
became  editor  of  the  agricultural  department  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
in  1850,  and  retained  this  position  till  his  death,  thus  being  closely  as- 
sociated with  Horace  Greeley  and  Charles  A.  Dana.  He  was  born  near 
Tolland,  Connecticut,  October  21,  1803,  and  died  at  Jacksonville,  Flor- 
ida, November  3,  1880.  See  typed  copy  of  address  delivered  by  A.  F. 
Knotts  before  Old  Settlers  and  Historical  Society  of  Lake  County  at 
Crown  Point,  August  27,  1921,  Indiana  State  Library. 


234  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

cently.  We  would  have  noted  with  pleasure  the  valuable 
library  of  the  owner,  if  the  atheist  newspapers  of  Miss  Frances 
Wright,18  lying  about  in  profusion,  and  public  effusions 
against  clergy,  temperance  society,  etc.,  had  not  shown  how, 
even  here,  the  lamentable  reaction  against  the  exaggerations 
of  the  times  is  producing  its  injurious  effects  and  most  sadly 
increasing  the  confusion  of  mind  generated  by  religious  con- 
tentiousness. 

From  there  on,  the  badness  of  the  road  came  to  a  climax, 
and  we  approached  Brush  Creek,  where  the  collapse  of  the 
bridge  had  been  the  main  cause  of  the  non-arrival  of  the  stage 
coach.  Wagon-drivers  whom  we  met  gave  terrifying  ac- 
counts of  the  difficult  and  roundabout  route  which  was  the 
only  possible  way  to  get  through  the  bottomless  swamp  which 
encompasses  it,  but  when  we  came  up,  a  large  body  of  men 
who  were  reconstructing  the  bridge,  called  to  us  from  afar 
that,  if  we  would  wait  a  short  quarter  of  an  hour,  we  might 
be  the  first  to  cross  the  new  bridge.  We  were  glad  to  do 
so  and  watched  with  amazement  the  skill  with  which  these 
people  were  able  to  handle  their  only  tool,  the  axe.  In  an  in- 
credibly short  time,  the  tree  trunk  which  was  still  wanting 
to  complete  the  flooring  of  the  bridge  was  cut  down,  squared 
most  neatly  and  exactly,  and  fitted  into  the  opening,  so  that 
we  could  cross  the  dangerous  place  with  gratitude  and  with- 
out any  other  trouble  than  to  accept  a  draught  of  whisky 
from  the  people  amidst  their  loud  hurrahs.  But  for  still  an- 
other mile  or  more  the  road  was  as  bad  as  it  could  possibly  be ; 
then  it  became,  on  the  whole,  quite  good.  After  riding  through 
the  most  fertile  plantations  with  good  brick  houses,  before  five 
o'clock    we    reached    Columbus,    the    capital    of    Bartholomew 


18Frances  or  Fanny  Wright  (Mrs.  Frances  d'Arusmont),  1795- 
1852,  was  an  early  radical  and  advocate  of  women's  rights.  She  re- 
sided for  some  years  at  New  Harmony,  where  in  1828  she  was  an 
editor  of  The  New  Harmony  and  Nashoba  Gazette,  or  Free  Enquirer, 
and  joined  in  transferring  the  paper  to  New  York  and  continuing  it 
under  the  name  of  the  Free  Enquirer.  See  Dictionary  of  National  Bi- 
ography, Stephen,  Leslie,  (ed.),  under  Arusmont;  also  Waterman,  Wil- 
liam Randall,  Frances  Wright  {Columbia  University  Studies  in  His- 
tory, Economics,  and  Public  Law,  vol.  CXV,  No.  1,  New  York,  1924). 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  235 

County,  named  for  a  general  of  the  militia  who  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Indian  war.'19 

By  mistake  we  did  not  take  up  our  quarters  at  the  inn 
indicated  to  me  by  Brother  Martin  Hauser,  so  that  I  had 
to  go  on  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  found  there  that  everything  had 
been  attended  to  all  right.  He  was  willing  to  take  us  early 
in  the  morning  to  Jacob  Häuser,  a  brother  of  Martin,  well 
known  to  me  in  Salem,  who,  however,  had  joined  the  Baptists. 
It  was  quite  evident  that  my  arrival  here,  heralded  long  be- 
fore, created  quite  a  sensation  and  perhaps  had  also  given 
rise  to  many  absurd  rumors,  for  the  settling  of  the  Moravians 
is  causing  quite  a  stir  here.  Although  a  crowd  of  people 
gathered  around  me  immediately,  on  this  account,  all  were 
exceedingly  polite  and  obliging. 

On  June  2nd,  after  breakfast  Mr.  Jones  called  for  us  with 
his  stage  coach  and  took  us  the  four  miles  to  our  friend,  Jacob 
Häuser,  whom  we  found  in  the  woods  not  far  from  his  fine 
brick  house.  His  plantation  is  located  on  a  wide,  exceed- 
ingly fertile  plain,  called  Haw  Patch,  on  the  Flatrock  River, 
which  even  here  is  navigable  in  spring.  At  Columbus  it  flows 
into  the  Driftwood,  which  is  about  half  the  size  of  our  Lehigh 
and  carries  considerable  traffic.  This  Haw  Patch,  which  has 
been  thickly  settled  for  little  more  than  seven  years,  looks 
already  like  an  older  settlement  and  contains  extensive  plan- 
tations. Jacob  could  not  come  home  until  noon,  but  we  were 
very  kindly  received  by  his  wife,  a  native  of  these  parts.  After 
dinner  he  got  ready  to  take  us, in  his  one-horse  conveyance  the 
twleve  or  fourteen  miles  beyond  to  his  brother.  Many  inter- 
esting exchanges  with  Jacob  along  the  way  gave  me  an  insight 
into  the  prevailing  religious  confusion,  which  has  come  to 
a  climax  through  the  many  contending  parties  and  their  lead- 
ers who  are  quite  uneducated  people. 


19General  Joseph  Bartholomew.  See  Pence,  George,  "General  Bar- 
tholomew," Indiana  Biographical  Pamphlets,  vol.  Ill,  no.  59  (Colum- 
bus, Ind.,  1894)  ;  also  Indiana  Magazine  of  History,  vol.  XIV,  pp.  287-303. 


236  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

The  first  six  miles  we  drove  along  a  wretched  road20  to 
Indianapolis,  the  capital  of  the  state,  situated  on  the  west 
branch  of  White  River,  near  the  place  where  Brethren  Kluge 
and  Luckenbach  formerly  attended  to  the  Indian  mission.21 
Suddenly,  however,  our  experienced  guide  turned  aside  right 
into  the  dense  woods,  where  only  a  very  indistinct,  and  fre- 
quently wellnigh  vanishing  footpath  indicated  the  direction. 
We  now  proceeded  very  slowly  indeed  through  such  deep  mud 
— sometimes  a  morass — that  I  soon  had  to  give  up  the  at- 
tempt to  walk,  just  as  Brethren  Frueauf  and  Häuser  had 
done.  The  dense  underbrush,  which  fortunately  consisted  only 
of  easily  breaking  laurels  (Laurus  Benzoin)  [Benzoin  aesti- 
vale]  and  pawpaws  (Porcelia  triloba)  [Asimina  triloba],  served 
as  a  substratum  and  support  for  our  one-horse  conveyance,  since 
we  were  driving  over  it  incessantly.  The  small  creeks  often 
had  difficult  banks  and  when  we  finally  came  to  Tough  Creek, 
the  crossing  was  really  very  hard.  However,  we  succeeded 
and  thus  reached  the  settlement  of  our  brethren  and  sisters, 
though  we  had  totally  lost  our  way.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  there  isn't  any  road  because  nobody  travels  there 
by  a  conveyance. 

[The   Moravian   Settlement] 

Philipp  Essig22  met  us  in  the  guise  of  a  charcoal  burner, 

since  he  was  just  burning  a  kiln ;  he  gave  good  advice  as  to 

how  we  might  wind  our  way  to  Martin  Hauser's.  So  we  passed 

by  several  of  their  newly  started  plantations — some  have  been 


20This  was  not  the  state  road  to  Indianapolis,  however.  Von 
Schweinitz  left  this  road  two  miles  north  of  Columbus  on  the  "Haw 
Patch"  road.  At  that  time,  May,  1831,  there  were  but  three  official 
roads  located  in  Haw  Creek  Township.  The  route  from  Jacob  Hauser's 
place  to  Martin  Hauser's  was  through  the  "slashes,"  a  swampy  wilder- 
ness which  had  no  roads  for  a  number  of  years. 

21A  Moravian  mission  among  the  Delaware  Indians  on  White 
River  was  established  in  1801  by  John  Peter  Kluge  and  Abraham  Luck- 
enbach who  were  sent  from  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania,  for  that  purpose. 
The  mission  was  abandoned  in  1806,  however,  owing  to  the  inreasing 
difficulty  in  the  relations  between  the  Indians  and  the  whites.  Its 
location  on  the  north  bluffs  of  White  River  near  what  is  now  Ander- 
son is  marked  by  a  bronze  tablet,  placed  there  in  1913  by  the  D.  A.  R. 

22The  surname,  Essig,  was  later  Americanized  to  Essex. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  237 

begun  only  this  spring.  As  may  be  easily  understood,  they 
were  scarcely  observable,  save  for  the  fences  and  deadened 
trees,  in  the  woods,  which  surpass  everything  seen  heretofore 
in  height,  density,  and  the  girth  of  their  varied  trees.  So  we 
lost  our  bearings  again  several  times  until  we  met  Ludwig 
Ried,  an  old  acquaintance  in  Salem,23  and  were  put  on  the 
right  way.  Thus,  just  as  it  was  getting  dark,  we  arrived  at 
Martin  Hauser's  west  fence,  which  we  laid  down,24  and  then 
sought  our  own  way  to  his  house  through  his  corn,  which  was 
just  coming  up. 

The  great  joy  of  seeing  each  other  was  shared  by  all 
members  of  the  household,  although  we  really  saw  each  other 
only  in  the  morning,  since,  during  our  entire  stay,  we  were 
without  any  light  in  the  evening,  except  at  supper,  unless  it 
was  cool  enough  to  have  a  flickering  fire  in  the  fireplace.  Be- 
sides the  five  children  of  Brother  and  Sister  Häuser,  there 
lodged  with  them  three  unmarried  Chittys,  brothers  of  Sister 
Häuser,  some  of  whom  had  recently  arrived  from  Salem. 
There  also  lodged  with  them  Brother  John  Proske,  formerly 
employed  with  the  Indian  mission,  who  had  also  bought  land 
here  and  at  the  same  time  leased  a  lot  in  the  little  town  of 
Goshen25  which  is  being  laid  out  around  the  schoolhouse, 
where  he  is  building  a  house  to  start  his  shoemaker's  trade. 
Brother  Hauser's  rather  spacious  log  house  is  nice  and  well 
built,  and  has  a  good  roof,  but  consists  of  only  one  room  and 
the  loft,  which  is  reached  by  a  ladder.  In  the  room,  behind 
a  screen  made  of  wagon  [covers?]  and  sheets,  we  found  our 
beds  already  prepared  and  space  for  our  things,  and  at  the 
back  a  window.  There  was  another  window  in  the  room, 
opposite  the  door.  A  smaller  log  house  or  cabin  close  by, 
which  however  is  still  entirely  open — that  is,  not  filled  in 
between  the  logs — forms  the  kitchen  and  dining  room,  where 


23 Salem,  North  Carolina,  where  von  Schweinitz  had  formerly 
preached,  and  whence  most  of  the  Moravians  in  this  settlement  had  come. 

24The  primitive  rail  fence,  built  zigzag  fashion  of  split  rails,  read- 
ily lent  itself  to  being  torn  down  and   rebuilt. 

25Soon   changed   to   Hope.     See    Introduction. 


238  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

we  always  betook  ourselves  with  our  chairs  at  meal  times. 
Yet  its  chimney  is  still  lacking  and  an  open  fire  is  kept  in 
the  house  on  some  large  flagstones.  Most  things,  however, 
are  cooked  outside  in  the  yard,  if  it  is  not  raining. 

Thus  grateful  and  very  happy,  we  moved  into  these,  our 
present  quarters,  to  stay  there  until  after  June  17th,  which 
day  the  brethren  and  sisters  here  have  chosen  for  their  coming 
congregation  festival,  for  this  is  the  date  when,  in  the  name 
of  God,  they  assembled  last  year,  for  the  first  time,  in  the 
schoolhouse,  just  built  and  still  without  a  roof.  It  was  ap- 
parent that  any  shortening  of  this  time  would  be  very  painful 
to  them.  After  our  first  happy  supper,  we  enjoyed  for  a 
while  the  most  interesting  and  remarkable  night  view  from 
the  house,  in  the  midst  of  the  half-cleared  ten  acres,  out  into 
the  high  impenetrable  woods  surrounding  it.  The  woods  were 
illuminated  by  twenty-five  or  thirty  burning  log-heaps,  built 
of  cut  timber  from  four  or  five  acres  of  lowland,  which  Brother 
Häuser  had  planted  with  corn  this  spring.  The  logs  continued 
to  burn  incessantly  the  first  week.  After  we  had  enjoyed  the 
view,  we  lay  down  to  rest  and  I  most  earnestly  commended 
myself  and  my  errands  here  to  the  Lord  in  a  simple  prayer 
for  his  support.  It  pained  us  this  first  evening  to  notice  the 
serious  eye  trouble  with  which  Brother  Häuser  is  afflicted  and 
which  we  greatly  hope  may  not  deprive  him  of  one  of  his  eyes. 

It  may  now  be  fitting,  first  of  all,  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
general  situation.  As  is  well  known,  all  land  in  the  new 
states,  and  particularly  in  Indiana,  is  divided  by  the  United 
States  into  equal  townships  of  thirty-six  square  miles.  Each 
of  these  square  miles,  of  which  there  are  six  in  each  direction, 
is  a  "section"  composed  of  640  acres.  Each  section  is  sub- 
divided once  more  into  eight  equal,  half-quarter  sections,  that 
is,  eighty  acre  lots.  These  divisions,  however,  are  not  only  on 
paper,  but  have  been  actually  surveyed  and  marked  on  the  cor- 
ner trees  with  their  proper  numbers.  In  each  township,  the 
section  which  is  marked  number  16  is  the  common  property  of 
all  inhabitants  of  the  township  and  reserved  exclusively  for  the 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  239 

support  of  their  primary  schools.  The  remainder  of  the  land  is 
open  to  anybody.  After  an  inspection  of  the  quality  and  lo- 
cation of  the  land,  fresh  water  springs,  and  so  forth,  every- 
body selects  whatever  pleases  him,  usually  one  or  several  half- 
quarter  sections,  from  that  which  is  still  unoccupied.  As  soon 
as  he  has  paid  down  cash,  which  without  variation  amounts 
to  $100  for  eighty  acres,  in  the  land  office  at  Indianapolis,  the 
piece  selected  is  his  absolute  property  and  for  the  first  five 
years  is  free  from  taxation. 

The  township  where  most  of  the  brethren  and  sisters  who 
have  moved  here  from  North  Carolina  have  settled,  and  where 
a  considerable  number  still  seem  to  wish  to  follow,  is  called 
Haw  Creek  Township26  from  the  two  creeks  uniting  in  it, 
which  flow  into  the  Driftwood  Fork  at  Columbus,  and  is 
located  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Bartholomew  County.  It  is 
bordered  by  Shelby  County  on  the  north  and  by  Decatur 
County  on  the  east;  on  the  south,  it  is  adjoined  by  Clifty 
Township,  and  on  the  west,  by  Flatrock,  both  of  which  are 
in  Bartholomew  County.  Some  of  the  brethren  and  sisters 
are  living  in  Flatrock. 

Several  years  ago,  following  the  example  of  other  Car- 
olinian neighbors  who  thought  themselves  unable  to  live  in 
the  comparatively  unfertile  state  of  North  Carolina,  Brother 
Martin  Häuser  turned  toward  the  state  of  Indiana  and  natur- 
ally cast  his  eye  by  preference  on  the  part  where  his  brother, 
Jacob,  together  with  other  Carolinians,  had  been  settled  for 
more  than  seven  years.  Since  that  time  he  has  cherished  the 
desire  to  arrange  his  settlement  in  such  a  manner  that  those 
North  Carolinian  emigrants,  who,  like  him,  were  quite  anxious 
to  retain  their  connection  with  the  Moravian  Church,  might 
settle  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  form  a  congregation.  On  the 
occasion  of  a  visit  to  Pennsylvania  four  years  ago,  hope  was 
extended  to  him  that  a  helping  hand  might  be  given  by  the 
purchase  of  a  suitably  located  piece  of  land  which  some  time 


26Haw    Creek    Township   was    formed    by    the    Board   of    Commis- 
sioners on  March  2,  1829,  from  the  east  end  of  Flatrock  Township. 


240  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

might  serve  as  an  endowment  for  the  support  of  a  laborer  and 
the  establishment  of  a  congregation.  On  this  land  a  church 
and  schoolhouse  might  stand,  and  around  them,  perhaps,  also 
a  little  town.  When,  therefore,  over  two  years  ago,  he  ac- 
tually moved  to  Indiana  with  his  family,  he  selected  for  him- 
self here  in  Haw  Creek  Township  a  very  suitable  location 
in  a  most  extraordinarily  wooded  region,  to  be  sure,  but  ex- 
ceedingly fertile ;  rather  rolling,  healthful,  and  abundantly  sup- 
plied with  the  best  spring  water :  a  place  where  an  unusually 
desirable  opportunity  for  such  a  settlement  presented  itself. 
On  his  representation  it  was  first  decided  to  purchase  for  the 
above  purpose  160  acres,  or  two  half -quarter  sections,  along 
the  south  side  of  his  three  lots  (a  tract  of  240  acres)  to  which 
now,  during  my  presence,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  add  another 
eighty  acres  to  prevent  the  intrusion  of  a  stranger.  Scarcely 
had  this  become  known  when  the  emigration  from  Carolina, 
and  particularly  from  the  country  congregations,  took  this 
direction  and  already  a  considerable  number  of  the  half-quar- 
ter sections  located  in  the  neighborhood  have  been  purchased 
by  brethren  and  sisters  who  are  gathering  here  in  ever  larger 
numbers. 

On  the  piece  they  called  Goshen,  which  I  purchased,27  they 
have  now  jointly  cleared  five  acres  around  the  schoolhouse, 
erected  a  year  ago,  in  such  manner  as  clearing  can  be  done  in 
the  beginning,  and  they  have  provided  them  with  a  good  fence. 
On  this  five-acre  lot,  also,  Brother  Häuser  has  commenced 
to  build  a  house  for  Brother  John  Leinbach  who  wants  to 
exercise  his  trade  as  a  cooper  there,  and  Brother  Proske  is 
building  next  to  him,  but  clearing  an  additional  separate  acre. 
A  couple  of  other  brethren  who  have  moved  here,  Daniel 
Ziegler28  and   Ludwig   Ried,   have  bought   a   couple   of   older 


27Von  Schweinitz  advanced  the  money  necessary  to  purchase  land 
for  church  purposes  at  a  time  when  the  future  existence  of  the  Goshen 
(Hope)  settlement  was  uncertain  and  when  Häuser  and  his  fellow- 
settlers  were  enduring  great  hardships.  Hamilton,  History  of  the 
Moravian  Church,  p.  358. 

28Ziegler  was  one  of  the  five  men  who  made  an  agreement  on  January 
2,  1830  that  they  and  their  families  would  form  the  nucleus  of  a  con- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  241 

plantations  which  were  commenced  before  Brother  Hauser's 
arrival,  and  therefore  have  considerable  land  under  cultivation. 
On  the  others,  cultivation  was  begun  in  the  woods  only  two 
years  ago  and  on  several,  only  this  year.  It  may  therefore  be 
imagined  how  wild  and  rough  it  still  looks  about  them  and 
that  their  houses  serve  only  for  the  most  urgent,  present  ne- 
cessities. Few  have  yet  had  the  gaps  between  the  logs  stopped 
up  and  plastered :  I  even  noticed  a  twig,  with  leaves  still 
green,  on  one  of  the  logs  of  Philipp  Essig's  house.  But  one 
must  marvel  at  how  much  their  industry  has  accomplished, 
especially  if  one  gets  a  clear  idea  of  the  work  required.  With- 
out mutual  help,  it  would  be  entirely  impossible  to  get  on, 
particularly  with  the  toilsome  log  rolling,  or  with  the  hauling 
of  felled  trees  into  a  pile  in  order  to  burn  them.  For,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  half  of  them  are  left  standing,  trees  cover 
the  whole  expanse  on  account  of  their  incredible  size  and 
height. 

The  easily  split  walnut  and  cherry  wood  greatly  facilitates 
their  fence  making.  Chestnuts  are  not  often  found,  nor  are 
any  coniferous  trees  anywhere  in  the  state  except  in  the  north 
toward  Lake  Michigan.  The  beeches  and  sugar-maples  are  the 
most  numerous,  and  the  poplars  (Liriodendron)  are  the  biggest 
and  tallest  trees.  At  Brother  Dan.  Ziegler's  house  the  road 
passes  between  two  poplar  stumps  which  are  seven  feet  in 
diameter  each — the  felled  trunk  of  one  forms  the  fence  for 
seventy  or  eighty  feet  and  is  still  over  four  feet  thick  at 
the  smaller  end.  Besides  these  there  are  found  almost  as 
huge  walnut  trees  (Juglans  nigra  and  cinerea),  shell  barks 
(Juglans  alba)  [Carya  ovata],  many  species  of  ash,  mulberries, 
honey-locusts  (Gladitsia)  [Gladitsia  triancanthos]  with  and 
without  thorns,  coffee-trees,  (Gymnocladus)  [Gymnocladus 
dioicd],  elms,  immense  sycamores  (Platanus)  [Plantanus  oc- 
cidentalism and  many  other  trees,  but  extremely  few  oaks.  In 
the  hollow  of  one  of  these  sycamores,  which  was  still  growing, 


gregation   at   Goshen,   later   Hope.     The   others   were    Martin   Häuser, 
John  Essex,  Samuel  Rominger  and  Joseph  Spaugh.     Ibid.,  p.  358. 


242  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

five  of  us  adults  assembled  and  as  many  again  would  easily 
have  had  room.  The  smaller  growth  and  underbrush  is  ex- 
ceedingly varied.  All  the  woods  are  alike  in  immense  height, 
density,  and  absolute  straightness  of  the  trees. 

The  ground  is  a  jet-black,  rich  soil,  about  four  feet  deep. 
Stone — and  that  only  a  soft  limestone  which  yields  excellent 
lime — is  found  only  at  the  creeks  and  on  the  hillsides.  In 
spite  of  the  most  imperfect  ploughing,  the  only  kind  which  the 
roots  filling  the  ground  render  possible  during  the  first  years, 
Martin  has  a  splendid  wheat  field,  to  say  nothing  of  Dan 
Ziegler's  and  Ried's.  As  soon  as  the  ground  is  got  into 
proper  shape,  an  acre  yields  one  hundred  bushels  of  corn. 
Everywhere  there  can  be  observed  the  richest  growth  of  grass, 
timothy  (Phleum  pratense)  and  here  and  there,  clover.  The 
finest  apple  and  peach  trees  are  growing  luxuriantly  upon  the 
older  plantations. 

A  good  flowing  spring  is  found  on  almost  every  eighty- 
acre  lot,  although  none  so  glorious  as  Martin's,  which  is  one 
of  the  finest  I  ever  saw  and  which  has  delicious  water.  But 
very  good  water  may  be  had  anywhere  without  much  trouble 
by  digging  a  well.  The  two  Haw  Creeks  are  indeed  not  large 
streams,  yet  they  drive  a  sawmill.  This  is  a  mile  from  Gosh- 
en ;  and  besides  the  mills  on  the  Flatrock  are  near  at  hand. 
Every  rain,  however,  causes  them  to  rise  in  an  unconceivable 
manner.  In  wet  weather  the  mud  on  the  rich,  black  ground 
is  indescribable,  especially  where  on  a  level  surface,  such  as 
near  the  schoolhouse,  the  water  cannot  flow  off. 

Columbus,  which  is  not  over  ten  or  twelve  miles  distant, 
forms  a  most  desirable  market  because  there  is  much  buying 
there  for  exportation  down  the  Mississippi.29  All  products  of 
the  country  can  be  disposed  of  there,  hogs  most  advantageously 
of  all,  wherefore  all  efforts  are  directed  toward  breeding  them. 


29Columbus  is  actually  fourteen  miles  from  Hope.  At  that  time 
and  until  the  advent  of  the  Madison  and  Indianapolis  Railroad,  it  was 
a  shipping  point  of  considerable  importance  in  the  flatboat  trade  with 
Arkansas  and  New  Orleans.  Its  location  on  the  Driftwood  Fork  of 
White  River  afforded  the  use  of  the  spring  freshets  in  this  trade. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  243 

On  the  other  hand,  the  inhabitants  are  obliged  to  go  to  Co- 
lumbus, also,  for  all  their  necessities,  even  for  the  smallest 
nail.  Nothing,  therefore,  would  be  more  desirable  for  the 
settlement  than  the  establishment  of  a  little  store  or  trading 
post  in  Goshen  which  would  save  them  this  trouble.  Nor  is 
there  any  doubt  that  an  energetic  young  man  who  would  be 
willing  to  put  up  with  the  privations  inseparably  connected 
with  beginning  in  such  a  wilderness,  would  have  good  pros- 
pects for  the  future.  This  would  particularly  be  the  case  with 
a  blacksmith.  Nothing  would  be  more  welcome  to  the  breth- 
ren and  their  neighbors  here  than  to  see  Goshen  becoming  a 
little  town  with  the  most  necessary  artisans  at  hand;  this  has 
been  Brother  Martin's  design.  For  the  present,  however,  it 
is  not  expected  that  much  increase  will  come  from  other  than 
Carolinian  congregations,  who  can  more  easily  reconcile  them- 
selves to  life  in  the  woods. 

Brother  Martin  cannot  attain  his  great  desire  to  arrange 
the  leases  in  Goshen  in  such  manner  that,  as  in  community 
settlements,  no  stranger  can  intrude  or  maintain  himself  as 
long  as  there  are  lacking  funds  from  which  to  buy  up  the  im- 
provements in  such  cases.  In  view  of  the  real  difficulties  in- 
volved, it  seems  to  me  advisable  also  to  aim  at  this.  After 
much  deliberation  the  lease  granted  to  Brother  Proske  was 
fixed  at  five  years,  after  which  term  the  proprietor  is  at  lib- 
erty to  renew  it,  change  it,  or,  if  no  agreement  is  reached,  he 
reserves  for  himself  the  right  of  purchasing  the  improvements 
on  the  lot,  without  being  compelled  to  do  so.  Apart  from 
such  leases  of  house  lots,  the  present  custom  of  the  country 
offers  only  one  way  for  the  use  of  land  in  the  interest  of 
the  community,  namely,  gradually  to  grant  parts  of  it 
on  improving  leases,  that  is,  to  let  them  to  a  farmer  for  seven 
years  for  his  individual  use,  on  condition  that  a  certain  num- 
ber of  acres  are  cultivated  and  fenced  in.  Its  value  increases 
thereby  and  after  this  period  it  may  be  decided  what  further 
use  is  to  be  made  of  it.  For  the  present  there  cannot  possibly 
arise  any  revenue  from  it.     They  all  do  this;  as,  for  example, 


244  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

Martin  Hauser,  who  posseses  more  land  than  he  and  his 
family  can  use  for  the  present.  Several  of  the  brethren  who 
have  settled  here  are  such  tenants  and  hope  to  earn  so  much 
beyond  their  living  expenses  in  those  years,  that  they  can  then 
buy  land  for  themselves. 

The  sixteenth  or  school  section  of  each  township  is  treated 
in  the  same  way,  only  usually  they  aim  to  sell  the  land  after 
one  or  more  leases  according  to  circumstances,  when  it  has 
risen  considerably  in  value  through  cultivation,  and  with  the 
proceeds  to  establish  a  fund,  the  interest  from  which  is  to 
support  the  primary  school  system.  The  school  land  may  be 
sold  as  soon  as  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  township  de- 
cides to  do  so.  This  condition  had  created  the  bitter  feeling 
here  in  Haw  Creek,  which  during  our  stay  had  such  a  sad  out- 
come, and  brought  the  murder  related  below  into  connection 
with  the  affairs  of  the  brethren. 

A  certain  man  by  the  name  of  Jones,  a  very  coarse  and 
bad  character,  is,  with  several  others,  a  tenant  on  the  school 
land  and  his  lease  has  still  five  years  to  run.30  This  man  de- 
vised a  plan  this  spring  to  persuade  the  inhabitants  to  put 
the  school  land  upon  the  market  at  once ;  those  concerned 
hoped  to  be  able  to  buy  the  plantations  they  had  started  on  it 
for  a  trifle.  Since  possession  could  only  be  obtained  after  five 
years,  no  purchasers  would  be  found.  Brother  Martin  Häuser 
and  Daniel  Ziegler  opposed  this  scheme  because  it  was  mani- 
festly to  the  very  great  disadvantage  of  the  township.  One 
of  the  magistrates,  Mr.  Ray,  sided  with  them  and  of  course 
all  the  brethren  here  followed  his  example.  Jones  then  sought 
to  arouse  enmity  against  all  Moravians  in  order  to  accomplish 
his  purpose.     Among  other  things  he  circulated  the  rumor  that 


30John  Jones  had  a  better  reputation  among  his  associates  and 
many  others  than  von  Schweinitz'  references  would  indicate.  He  had 
settled  near  the  present  site  of  Hope  in  1824  and,  with  his  brother,  for 
several  years  followed  a  business  of  driving  horses  to  North  Carolina. 
He  had  six  children  and  was  generally  regarded  as  taking  excellent 
care  of  them.  His  descendants  have  always  been  highly  regarded  in 
the  community.  Among  those  who  knew  him,  his  killing  of  Squire  Ray 
was  attributed  to  intoxication  and  a  violent  altercation.    See  note,  p.  253. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  245 

I  was  expected  with  $60,000  with  which  to  buy  whole  counties 
and  to  put  the  control  of  the  state  into  the  hands  of  the  Mo- 
ravians, insinuating  also  that  these  men  then  intended  to  sur- 
render the  country  to  the  King  of  England.  Largely  through 
the  sensible  representations  of  Squire  Ray,  however,  all  of 
this  was  in  vain,  and  the  selfish  design  of  Jones  and  his  gang 
was  frustrated.  Our  brethren  in  this  matter  wisely  avoided  all 
occasions  of  quarrels  and  brawls,  which  are  the  usual  way  of 
venting  bad  feelings  in  this  country.  So  this  rowdy  developed 
a  devilish  malignity  especially  against  Squire  Ray,  although  he 
also  uttered  threats  at  Martin  and  Dan.  Ziegler.  The  unfor- 
tunate result  will  be  detailed  in  due  time. 

From  all  that  has  been  said  about  the  situation  here,  it 
must  be  clear  that  conditions  are  very  inviting  and  advanta- 
geous indeed  for  the  settlement  of  farmers,  particularly  from 
Carolina,  where  settlers  are  accustomed  to  similar  conditions 
but  with  incomparably  worse  prospects ;  and  that  furthermore 
certain  kinds  of  indispensable  artisans  who  can  reconcile  them- 
selves to  such  life  in  the  wilderness  have  good  prospects.  It 
would  be  quite  a  different  thing,  however,  for  young  men  from 
our  Pennsylvania  communities,  and  probably  very  few  could 
easily  satisfy  themselves  with  conditions  here,  particularly  on 
account  of  their  wives. 

After  this  survey  I  return  to  our  stay  here.  On  Friday, 
the  3rd,  we  had  a  disagreeable  rainy  day  which  did  not  allow 
us  to  go  out  until  evening.  After  crossing,  on  a  sixty- foot  log, 
the  little  Haw  Creek,  which  flows  close  by  the  house,  we  made 
our  first  visit  with  Martin  to  Goshen,  or  rather  to  the  school- 
house,  about  half  a  mile  from  Hauser's.  Only  with  difficulty 
was  it  possible  to  get  there  by  the  footpath  through  the  deep 
mud.  On  the  flat  ridges,  especially,  the  water  stands  very 
long  after  a  rain.  The  schoolhouse  is  a  respectable  log  house 
with  a  good  shingle  roof,  but  still  without  windows,  for  it 
is  quite  open  everywhere ;  that  is,  the  three  or  four  inch  inter- 
stices between  the  logs  have  not  yet  been  chinked  up  and  daubed. 


246  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

As  usual  it  has  foundation  pillars  of  large  pieces  of  soft  lime- 
stone, but  as  yet  only  under  the  corners. 

Several  of  the  brethren  living  near  paid  us  visits  this  day 
and  the  next.  Our  further  proceedings  were  soon  agreed  up- 
on with  Brother  Martin  Häuser.  The  time  of  my  arrival  be- 
ing uncertain,  and  in  view  of  the  great  desire  of  those  living 
both  near  and  far  to  hear  a  Moravian  preacher,  it  had  been 
announced  that  Sunday,  June  12th,  there  would  be  preaching 
at  the  schoolhouse.  However,  this  need  not  prevent  my 
preaching  also  on  the  previous  Sunday,  the  5th,  when  in  ad- 
dition to  members  the  nearer  neighbors  were  expected  to 
come.  The  weather  being  fine,  they  did  indeed  attend  in  large 
numbers. 

As  is  well  known,  Brother  Martin  Haüser  was  given  a 
written  commission  from  Salem  to  take  care  of  the  brethren 
gathering  here  as  an  adviser ;  and  he  also  at  times  holds  prayer 
meetings  and  gives  short  exhortations.  With  others,  especially 
with  dear  young  Brother  John  Essig,  he  first  established  a 
Sunday  school  at  the  schoolhouse  in  co-operation  with  the 
Sunday  school  Union.  The  children  of  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood and  of  all  denominations  attend  this  in  large  numbers, 
and  on  this  day,  that  is  the  5th,  they  were  present,  soon  after 
nine  o'clock,  together  with  most  of  the  brethren  and  sisters. 

In  the  open  building  which,  as  remarked  above,  could  still 
do  quite  well  without  windows,  there  is  a  chair,  a  little  table, 
and  instead  of  benches,  which  were  not  yet  done,  boards  were 
laid  upon  blocks.  We  opened  the  meeting  with  the  German 
verse:  "So  weit  hast  du  uns  bracht,  Lamm  sei  gepriesen,"31 
which  Brother  Martin  Hauser  intoned  with  great  warmth  of 
heart.  (It  is  customary  to  sing  a  German  hymn,  but  all  other 
proceedings  are  in  the  English  language.)  Then  I  made  a 
short  address  to  the  brothers  and  sisters,  conveying  the  cordial 
sympathy  and  greetings  of  the  Provincial  Conference,  and 
imploring  the  Savior's  gracious  acceptance  of  our  undertakings. 
Thereupon  Brother  Martin  spoke  briefly  and  cordially  to  the 


31"So  far  hast  thou  brought  us,  Praised  be  the  Lamb." 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  247 

numerous  Sunday  school  scholars,  and  then  knelt  in  prayer. 
After  this  we  listened  with  the  greatest  pleasure  to  the  chil- 
dren's reading,  in  which  many  have  really  attained  great  pro- 
ficiency, and  heard  them  recite  with  great  spontaneity  the  por- 
tions of  Scripture  assigned  to  them  the  last  time,  together 
with  as  many  verses  of  hymns  as  they  wished  to  learn. 

The  impression  which  we  received  of  the  untold  usefulness 
of  these  Sunday  schools,  for  which  great  efforts  are  rightly 
being  made  in  these  otherwise  neglected  parts,  was  very  fa- 
vorable. The  Sunday  School  Union  agency  provides  that  ev- 
erywhere the  necessary  books  can  be  had  at  lowest  possible 
price,  and  though  in  part  the  forms  of  catechetical  instruction 
it  sends  out  are  very  imperfect,  yet  the  great  good  they  are 
doing  cannot  be  denied.  The  whole  Sunday  school  system  is, 
in  fact,  a  modification  of  the  instruction  of  children  in  the 
Lutheran  Church,  adapted  to  the  country  and  its  needs,  with 
the  important  improvement  that  the  personal  activity  of  the 
members  of  the  congregation  who  serve  as  teachers  makes  an 
advantageous  impression  and  thus  contributes  not  a  little  to 
arouse  the  interest  of  the  adults.  To  be  sure,  the  Sunday 
schools  do  not  make  other  schools  unnecessary,  and  the  breth- 
ren wish  very  much  that  an  opportunity  for  the  further  in- 
struction of  their  children  may  soon  be  given  them. 

I  omitted  to  say  that  the  roll  of  scholars  and  teachers  is 
always  called  at  the  beginning  and  everyone  present  responds 
to  his  name.  At  the  end  I  made  a  brief  address  to  the  chil- 
dren, calling  attention  to  their  good  fortune  in  having  such  an 
opportunity  to  learn  the  word  of  salvation  and  to  appropriate 
it  for  their  own  use. 

The  meeting  now  broke  up  for  a  short  while,  but  in  the 
meantime  a  fairly  large  crowd  of  people  had  assembled,  so 
I  soon  proceeded  to  the  sermon  in  the  manner  customary 
among  the  brethren,  with  the  singing  of  a  hymn  and  opening 
prayer.  The  house  was  completely  filled.  Among  those  pres- 
ent were  Squire  Ray  and  his  future  murderer,  who,  however, 
as  a  notorious  scoffer  at  religion,  soon  went  out  with  a  mate 


248  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

and  was  said  to  have  made  coarse  jokes  about  the  meeting  in 
front  of  the  house.  The  crowd  was  so  great,  indeed,  that 
soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  sermon  proper,  the  principal 
corner  stone  burst  in  two  pieces  from  the  weight  of  the  people, 
with  a  report  like  a  cannon  shot,  and  frightened  me  not  a 
little;  but  no  further  damage  was  done.  I  preached  on  the 
Epistle  of  the  day:  "God  is  love,"  but  at  the  beginning  I  felt 
that  I  did  not  succeed  in  finding  the  right  language  that  all 
could  understand.     Yet  all  seemed  quite  pleased  and  rejoiced. 

Monday  and  Tuesday  were  two  very  hot  days,  but  we 
used  them  to  visit  all  our  brethren  and  sisters  in  their  homes 
and  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  them  and  their  young  families, 
mostly  very  large.  The  first  day  we  proceeded  in  a  westerly 
and  the  second,  in  an  easterly  direction.  All  the  older  persons 
of  the  congregation  were  personally  well  known  to  me  from 
Salem  days,  as  well  as  other  neighbors  whom  we  visited,  who 
belong  to  the  Baptists  or  Lutherans — the  latter,  however,  have 
no  congregation.  Our  Monday  walking  was  very  fatiguing  for 
me  on  account  of  the  frequent  fence  climbing,  but  no  house 
can  be  approached  without  it.  Nevertheless  we  walked  seven 
miles  in  all,  for  there  is  at  least  half  a  mile  of  woods  between 
every  neighbor.  Everywhere  we  were  received  with  the  great- 
est love  and  joy,  and  refreshments  were  offered  to  us.  Every- 
where we  had  occasion  to  admire  their  industry  and  frugality. 
The  most  urgent  necessities  of  life,  but  only  these,  are  pro- 
vided everywhere.  A  mother  with  three  little  children,  the 
oldest  of  whom  is  four  years  old,  who  stays  in  her  cabin  in 
the  woods  all  alone,  while  her  husband  is  engaged  in  the 
heavy  tasks  of  clearing  up  the  forest,  is  truly  admirable  in 
her  activity  in  running  her  household,  simple  as  it  is.  She 
can  quickly  get  ready  a  cup  of  coffee — with  exquisite  maple 
sugar,  the  only  kind  which  is  seen  here — together  with  corn- 
bread  and  fried  ham  or  venison.  On  Tuesday  we  did  not  have 
to  walk  quite  so  far,  since  some  of  the  plantations  toward  the 
east,  such  as  Brother  Clayton's  and  Alexander  Copeland's,  who 
have  moved  here  from  the  Cherokee  country  only  this  spring, 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  249 

are  situated  somewhat  more  closely  together.  The  cordiality 
and  joy  of  the  brethren  and  sisters  were  exceedingly  gratify- 
ing, and  even  as  early  as  this  visit,  several  who  had  a  desire  to 
partake  in  the  Lord's  Supper  announced  for  the  festival  of 
the  17th,  reported  for  confirmation,  as  they  had  all  previously 
said  they  would  to  Brother  Martin.  Henry  Holders  also 
begged  very  hard  for  permission  to  join  the  congregation.  She 
was  formerly  a  communicant  sister  in  Carolina,  but  had  for- 
feited her  privilege. 

Most  of  the  men  were  still  making  the  utmost  efforts  to 
get  their  most  recently  cleared  pieces  [of  land]  into  shape, 
so  that  they  could  plant  corn  on  them,  in  spite  of  the  late 
season.  Even  Brother  Martin  did  not  get  this  done  till  four 
days  before  our  departure,  and  yet  on  the  morning  we  left 
we  noticed  that  it  had  already  come  up  beautifully.  As  soon 
as  it  does,  another  trouble  commences,  for  the  numerous  squir- 
rels pull  up  whole  rows  and  nibble  off  the  seeds.  Thus  it 
becomes  necessary  to  keep  shooting  all  day  long  around  the 
fields.  Besides  this,  on  Monday  night,  all  the  young  men 
were  summoned  for  a  wolf  hunt,  because  packs  of  wolves 
were  around  howling  during  the  nights.  They  failed,  however, 
in  their  object,  which  had  been  to  discover  the  lair  where  they 
kept   their   young. 

Thursday,  the  9th,  all  the  brethren  were  busy  about  the 
schoolhouse  the  whole  day,  sawing,  making  the  two  neces- 
sary windows,  filling  the  cracks  between  the  logs  with  stones, 
and  plastering  them  up  with  lime-mortar  from  without  and 
within.  They  achieved  this  with  the  exception  of  the  north 
side,  where  the  Liturgus32  sits,  which  must  still  remain  open 
for  the  present. 

From  time  to  time  we  received  calls  from  brethren  and 
sisters  and  other  neighbors.  Among  others,  the  repeatedly- 
mentioned  Squire  Ray  spent  the  greatest  part  of  an  afternoon 
with  us  in  a  very  friendly  way.  He  introduced  all  possible 
topics  of  conversation,  particularly  religious  questions,  such  as 


32The    minister. 


250  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

occupy  the  minds  of  the  good  people,  about  immersion  in 
baptism,  about  reprobation,  and  sophistical  interpretations  of 
some  verses  of  the  Bible  in  which  they  exercise  their  clever- 
ness in  debating.  He  was  especially  troubled  about  the  ques- 
tion of  the  day  of  the  week  on  which  the  Savior  had  been  cruci- 
fied, and  was  confused  by  the  universal  custom  of  calling  Sun- 
day the  Sabbath;  he  even  accused  the  Jews  of  having  moved 
their  Sabbath  back  one  day  out  of  spite  toward  the  Christians. 
The  information  I  tried  to  give  him  on  everything  seemed  quite 
satisfactory  to  him  and  he  took  leave  with  the  urgent  request 
that  we  should  call  on  him  at  his  house,  a  mile  and  a  half 
distant,  after  his  return  from  Columbus  where  he  was  about 
to  go  on  business  in  company  with  others.  He  took  a  letter 
for  Brother  Eugene  Frueauf  to  the  post-office.  It  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  mode  of  life  of  such  people,  when  I  mention 
that  this  man  told  us  he  had  commenced  nine  new  places  in 
the  woods  during  the  last  twelve  years,  which  he  had  always 
sold  again  at  once  to  others  at  a  profit.  In  the  same  way  he 
had  recently  disposed  of  his  present  place,  on  which  he  had 
constructed  a  sort  of  sawmill,  to  Brother  Charles  Spach,  re- 
ceiving $600  for  it,  and  he  was  now  contemplating  settling  in 
the  prairies  on  the  Wabash. 

In  spite  of  all  these  conversations  and  as  many  little  bo- 
tanical excursions  as  circumstances  permitted  and  many  very 
pleasant  and  gratifying  talks  with  Brother  Häuser,  time 
often  passed  slowly,  for  there  was  no  chance  to  write  and  to 
read.  From  time  to  time  the  weather  also  shut  us  up  in  the 
house  and  the  mud  was  almost  impassable  afterwards  for  at 
least  a  day. 

Especially  disagreeable  was  a  violent  rain  on  Saturday, 
the  11th,  because  word  had  been  sent  to  all  the  brethren  to 
assemble  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  in  the  school- 
house  for  a  thorough  discussion  of  the  affairs  of  the  congre- 
gation. Fortunately  the  rain  ceased  after  dinner  and  we  ex- 
perienced the  pleasure  of  having  all  appear  on  time  except 
one  who  could  not  get  away  from  home.     This  resulted  in  a 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  251 

regular  church  council,  the  first  one,  which  on  account  of  the 
truly  brotherly  and  loving  spirit  that  seemed  to  animate  all, 
gave  me  the  keenest  pleasure  in  every  respect.  I  explained 
to  them,  as  well  as  I  could,  what  the  chief  thing  with  a  Mo- 
ravian congregation  was,  admonished  them  to  be  mindful  of 
the  experience  of  our  little  church  over  one  hundred  years 
ago  on  August  13th,  and  to  set  aside  all  troublesome  contro- 
versies. However,  I  can  attest  with  pleasure  that  they  show 
no  inclination  at  all  to  enter  into  such  controversies,  although 
much  of  the  religious  life  and  interest  around  them  seem  prin- 
cipally to  consist  in  this.  I  called  their  attention  to  the  char- 
acter they  must  exhibit  in  word  and  conduct  as  successors  of 
Christ,  in  order  to  approve  themselves  in  their  surroundings 
as  a  congregation  belonging  to  Him,  and  gave  them  the  as- 
surance that  everything  which  our  limited  resources  permit- 
ted would  be  done  for  them  by  the  Provincial  Helpers'  Con- 
ference, which  was  taking  the  most  gratifying  interest  in  this 
rising  little  congregation. 

It  is  plain  enough  to  them  that  in  view  of  their  still  small 
number  and  the  condition  in  which  nearly  all  of  them  will 
be  for  the  next  few  years,  it  is  not  yet  possible  for  them 
to  get  a  pastor  of  their  own.  Therefore,  they  ask  all  the 
more  that,  at  least  once  a  year,  preferably  at  this  season,  a 
brother  who  can  administer  the  holy  sacraments  may  visit 
them,  for  instance,  from  Gnadenhutten,  which  might  be  done 
without  great  cost.  They  hope  that  if  they  should  find  an 
able  brother  who  would  be  willing  to  earn  a  considerable  part 
of  his  living  by  teaching  school  and  be  willing  to  put  up 
with  the  privations  of  pioneer  life,  it  need  not  be  so  very 
long  until  they  could  be  provided  with  one  of  their  own.  In 
the  meantime  they  are  well  satisfied  with  the  service  of 
Brother  Häuser,  who  seems  to  possess  their  confidence  and 
affection  in  a  high  degree.  At  his  suggestion,  they  all  agreed 
to  the  proposition  to  choose  two  brethren  to  help  him — the 
election  to  be  held  annually  at  the  festival — who  for  the  pres- 
ent with  him  should   form  a  committee  and  with  whom  he 


252  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

should  first  take  counsel  about  everything  to  be  undertaken, 
principally  about  the  reception  of  new  members  in  the  little 
band.  There  is  good  prospect  of  additions  among  several 
neighbors  from  Carolina,  and  a  number  of  new  brethren  and 
sisters  expected  from  Carolina  this  fall,  part  of  whom  have 
already  purchased  land.  I  promised  them,  as  a  guide  for  their 
future  rules,  a  copy  of  those  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia, 
and  they  all  gave  their  consent  to  the  rules,  well  known  to 
them  from  the  Carolinian  congregations.  In  conclusion  a 
number  of  agreements  were  made  as  to  how  the  common 
obligations  and  labors  could  most  appropriately  be  regulated. 
The  candor,  frankness,  and  interest  with  which  every  one 
present  took  part  in  these  deliberations  could  not  have  been 
more  gratifying.  I  was  especially  pleased  with  some  sensible 
young,  unmarried  people,  particularly  Brother  William  Chit- 
ty,  Martin  Hauser's  brother-in-law.  Feeling  exceedingly 
happy,  we  betook  ourselves  home  in  the  evening. 

On  the  following  day  a  large  crowd  was  expected  to  come 
to  the  sermon,  even  from  Columbus,  since  curiosity  had  be- 
come very  great  and,  among  other  follies,  the  rumor  had 
spread  that  I  had  all  the  instrumental  music  of  the  Moravians 
with  me  which  would  perform  on  that  occasion.  Yet  it  was 
decreed  otherwise.  For  during  the  night  there  came  a  fear- 
ful rain,  which  turned  toward  daybreak  into  an  unusually  vio- 
lent thunderstorm,  causing  the  creeks  to  rise  extraordinarily 
and  covering  everything  with  water  and  mud — and  not  only 
that,  but  soon  after  four  o'clock  we  were  called  out  of  our 
sleep  by  messengers  arriving  before  our  house  and  were  hor- 
rified by  the  news  that  last  night,  on  the  ride  homeward  from 
Columbus,  in  the  midst  of  an  apparently  friendly  conversa- 
tion, Squire  Ray  had  suddenly  been  stabbed  through  the 
heart  by  the  Jones  mentioned  above,  who  thus  sought  to  sat- 
isfy his  revenge.  The  Squire  dropped  dead  from  his  horse 
in  the  presence  of  other  persons.     This  was  later  confirmed 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  253 

and,  as  may  easily  be  understood,  caused  no  little  disturbance 
and  excitement  in  the  whole  region.33 

The  sermon  had  first  been  announced,  as  usual,  for  noon, 
but  I  had  little  hope  that  it  would  come  to  pass  at  all,  as  it 
continued  to  rain  fearfully  until  nine  o'clock.  Since  it  cleared 
up  later  on,  however,  and  became  quite  fair,  we  betook  our- 
selves through  the  unfathomable  wetness  and  crossed  the  long 
log,  not  without  anxiety  on  account  of  the  terribly  swollen 
Haw  Creek.  In  due  time  we  reached  the  schoolhouse,  where 
there  was  gathered  quite  a  goodly  number  of  men  from  the 
neighborhood,  although  of  course  no  women  came.  Those 
living  further  away,  however,  were  prevented  from  coming 
by  the  weather  and  the  murder.  There  was  of  course  no 
Sunday  school.  Though  their  minds  were  pretty  much  oc- 
cupied with  the  occurrence  of  the  night,  they  listened  with 
encouraging  attention  and  devotion  to  my  sermon  on  ' 'Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid,"  etc.,  a 
discourse  which  seemed  to  engage  their  interest  in  an  unusual 
manner.  So  Brother  Häuser  and  other  brethren  besought  me 
to  preach  again  on  the  same  text  when,  according  to  my  prom- 


33The  altercation  in  which  Ray  was  stabbed  to  his  death  with  a 
clasp  knife  by  Jones  occurred  on  June  n,  183 1,  about  one  mile  north 
of  Columbus  (now  near  Nineteenth  Street).  The  murderer  immedi- 
ately escaped  and  Ray's  friends  made  prompt  pursuit,  following  him 
to  Chesterfield  in  Madison  County.  His  capture  was  easily  effected. 
Jones  was  brought  to  the  Columbus  jail  and  indicted  for  murder  by 
the  Grand  Jury  at  the  September  term,  183 1.  The  jury  rendered  a 
verdict  of  guilty,  and  the  prisoner  was  sentenced  to  be  executed  on  Oc- 
tober 31,  1 83 1.  The  defense  moved  for  a  new  trial  on  an  appeal  to 
the  Supreme  Court  where  the  case  was  reversed.  At  his  second  trial 
during  the  March  term,  1832,  Jones  again  received  a  verdict  of  guilty, 
and  the  execution  was  fixed  for  April  20,  1832.  A  respite  was  granted 
by  the  Supreme  Court  to  give  it  time  to  pass  on  certain  exceptions, 
and  the  defendant  was  remanded  for  the  third  trial.  In  the  mean- 
time the  sheriff,  John  F.  Jones,  had  resigned  his  office  for  the  reputed 
reason  that  he  did  not  want  to  attend  to  the  execution  of  his  namesake, 
and  a  new  sheriff,  John  McKinney,  was  appointed.  Considerable  delay 
occurred  before  the  third  trial.  On  account  of  the  insecurity  of  the 
jail  the  prisoner  was  removed  at  different  times  to  the  adjoining  counties 
of  Jennings,  Monroe,  and  Johnson.  The  result  of  the  third  trial  during 
the  September  term,  1833,  was  only  a  repetition  of  the  two  prior  ver- 
dicts of  guilty,  and  the  court  condemned  him  to  be  hanged  on  Friday, 
October  11,  1833.  Pence,  George,  History  of  Bartholomew  Coun- 
ty  (still  in  manuscript  form). 


254  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

ise,  I  had  to  make  an  address  on  my  way  back  at  Jacob  Hau- 
ser's to  the  people  around  there. 

A  man  who  was  distinguished  from  the  remainder  of  the 
audience  by  his  outward  appearance,  and  who  had  come  on 
horseback,  had  attracted  my  notice  the  entire  time.  He  had 
lain  down  on  the  sisters'  side,  which  was  empty.  When  the 
closing  hymn  was  ended,  during  the  benediction  he  placed 
himself  in  the  door  and  made  himself  known  as  the  deputy 
sheriff.  He  summoned  all  the  younger  men  of  the  audience, 
one  by  one,  as  they  passed  out,  and  ordered  them  with  their 
guns  to  surround  the  hiding  places  of  the  murderer  at  once, 
and  to  pursue  him.  I  will  add  here  that  not  until  the  next  Sun- 
day, when  I  was  preaching  at  Jacob  Hauser's,  was  the  unfor- 
tunate man  brought  back  as  a  prisoner  to  Columbus.  He  had 
fled  as  far  as  the  Indian  country,  but  had  been  pursued  with 
great  zeal,  especially  by  the  brothers  of   the  murdered  man. 

Monday,  the  13th,  we  took  dinner  at  Brother  and  Sister 
Clayton's,  whence  we  went  to  Copeland's,  because  Sister  Cope- 
land,  nee  Polly  Gambold,  had  been  confined  during  the  night 
before  Sunday.  At  their  house,  with  a  strong  sense  of  the 
overshadowing  peace  of  God,  in  the  presence  of  several  of 
the  brethren  and  sisters,  I  baptized  the  new-born  child  into 
the  death  of  Jesus. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  15th,  the  brethren  and  sisters  who 
wished  to  be  confirmed  for  the  Lord's  Supper  assembled  at 
Martin  Hauser's :  namely,  Daniel  Ziegler,  father  of  a  large 
family  of  dear  young  daughters,  and  his  wife;  Lewis  Ried, 
whose  wife  does  not  belong  to  our  church,  and  who  has  sev- 
eral grown  sons ;  and  young  Brother  John  Essig,  who  is 
married.  With  heartfelt  sympathy  I  explained  briefly  to  them 
the  main  contents  of  the  gospel  truth  and,  more  fully,  every- 
thing relating  to  the  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  their  undivided  attention  and  the  manifest  emo- 
tion of  their  hearts  during  the  almost  two-hour  exposition. 

We  gladly  complied  with  the  desire  of  the  aged  and  es- 
timable  Friedrich   Rothrock   to   permit   him  and   his   wife   to 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  255 

celebrate  the  festival  and  the  Lord's  Supper  with  us,  for 
which  purpose  they  had  travelled  here  and  paid  us  a  long 
visit  on  the  16th.  He  is  living  about  twelve  miles  from  here 
and  belonged  to  the  Lutheran  Church  of  Brother  Schober  in 
Carolina.  Our  anxiety  that  a  concourse  of  other  strangers 
might  molest  us  at  our  festival  fortunately  proved  unfounded, 
although  we  had  agreed,  in  order  to  avoid  suspicion  and  evil 
report,  not  to  turn  away  any   respectable  person. 

Thus  approached  the  17th  of  June  which  was  to  close  and 
crown  our  stay  here.  Evidently  all  were  eagerly  anticipating 
the  day  on  which  it  was  of  unusual  importance  that  the  Lord 
should  grant  us  fine  weather,  since  all  families,  even  with 
small  children,  were  obliged  to  spend  the  whole  time  in  the 
schoolhouse  and  in  the  woods,  if  they  wished  to  take  due  part 
in  it.  The  Lord  did  indeed  grant  us  such  a  fine  day,  and 
hearing  our  common  prayer,  He  strengthened  me  in  a  con- 
spicuous manner,  after  I  had  recovered  from  a  passing,  but 
alarming  attack  of  illness  that  very  morning.  Toward  half- 
past  eight  o'clock,  after  having  nailed  up  doors  and  windows, 
since  it  was  risky  to  leave  the  house  empty  a  whole  day,  all 
members  of  the  household  set  out  on  the  way  to  Goshen. 
At  the  appointed  hour  of  nine  all  of  the  little  congregation, 
young  and  old,  with  the  exception  of  Sister  Copeland  and  her 
new-born  child,  had  assembled. 

I  opened  the  proceedings  of  the  day,  conscious  of  the  pres- 
ence of  divine  grace  among  us,  with  a  solemn  morning  service 
and  prayer.  I  expressed  the  grateful  sentiments  of  the  little 
congregation  at  the  fulfillment  which  the  Lord  had  already 
granted  beyond  all  hope,  of  their  intention  here  in  the  far 
west  to  join  the  Brethren's  Unity  as  a  Moravian  congregation. 
I  assured  them  of  the  blessing  and  sympathy  of  all  the  con- 
gregations and  encouraged  them  for  the  future  to  set  all  their 
hope  on  the  Lord,  to  let  their  call  and  election  become  fixed 
by  grace,  and  here  and  now  to  make  in  His  name,  both  in- 
dividually and  as  a  congregation,  the  covenant  of  peace,  which 
could  never  be  taken  from  them.     Amidst  an  emotional  stir 


256  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

of  all  hearts,  this  was  then  done  in  the  solemn  prayer  I  pro- 
nounced in  the  name  of  all,  and  surely  with  the  fervent  con- 
sent of  their  hearts.  I  commended  most  warmly  to  His  faith- 
ful heart  this  little  western  congregation  in  Goshen  as  a 
newly  rising  star  in  the  crown  on  the  head  of  our  union. 
There  was  probably  no  one  in  this  little  forest  church  who 
did  not  feel  the  presence  of  the  Savior  among  us  and  who 
could  not  also  testify  to  His  recognition  of  Goshen  as  a  future 
congregation  of  His. 

For  a  quarter  or  half  an  hour  we  rested  in  the  dark,  glo- 
rious shade  of  the  deep  forest,  surprisingly  little  troubled  then 
by  flies  and  gnats  in  the  lovely  weather  of  the  day.  Then 
all  assembled  for  the  second  time  in  order  to  listen  to  a  de- 
tailed discourse  preparatory  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which, 
at  Brother  Hauser's  request,  I  repeated  the  main  contents  of 
my  instruction  to  the  candidates  for  confirmation  who  were 
sitting  on  a  bench  in  front  of  me.  After  cordially  addressing 
them,  I  asked  each  one  of  them  the  four  questions,  by  answer- 
ing which  they  solemnly  pronounced  their  confession  of  faith 
and  their  vows  of  fidelity  to  the  Saviour,  to  whom  they  wished 
to  surrender  themselves  anew  this  day,  in  an  exceedingly 
touching  manner,  before  the  congregation  and,  in  part,  be- 
fore a  considerable  number  of  their  own  children.  Then  1 
confirmed  them  with  a  feeling  which  gripped  my  heart  in 
an  extraordinary  manner,  and  which  evidently  prevailed  also 
in  the  congregation,  particularly  in  the  candidates  themselves. 
It  was  significant  to  me  that  this  was  the  first  confirmation 
I  ever  had  an  opportunity  to  perform. 

It  was  now  noon.  We  lay  down  again  to  rest  in  the  for- 
est shade.  In  a  short  time  the  young  men  had  collected  ana 
piled  up  logs  in  the  shape  of  an  altar  which  soon  flamed  up 
cheerfully.  This  was  used  to  cook  the  love  feast  with  which 
the  sisters  occupied  themselves  for  the  present,  while  the 
brethren  assembled  once  more  for  the  election  of  the  two  com- 
mittee members,  as  previously  decided.  Almost  unanimously 
the  two  oldest  brethren  were  elected,  Daniel  Ziegler  and  Lewis 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  257 

Ried,  who  had  just  been  confirmed.  The  former  especially 
seems  to  enjoy  the  general  regard,  and  he  is  called  Uncle 
Daniel  by  everybody  in  the   whole  neighborhood. 

The  white  cloth  with  which  the  sisters  had  adorned  the 
table,  for  which  one  of  them  had  gladly  lent  her  handsome 
shawl,  was  removed  for  a  moment  in  order  that  we  might 
eat  our  refreshing  dinner,  consisting  of  cold  roast  chicken. 
Until  the  preparations  for  the  baptism  of  the  children  were 
completed,  we  then  enjoyed  ourselves  in  the  forest  among 
the  brethren  and  sisters,  among  whom  there  reigned  an  af- 
fection, a  simplicity  and  a  joy  over  this  day  which  was  quite 
animating.  It  gave  pleasure  to  me  and  to  all  to  unexpectedly 
welcome  the  beloved  exhorter  of  the  Methodists  in  this  vi- 
cinity, Lewis  Rominger,  with  Friedrich  Brendel,  an  old  ac- 
quaintance in  Carolina,  who  had  just  arrived  from  his  home, 
some  distance  away — a  very  earnest  Baptist.  They  could,  how- 
ever, only  stay  until  after  the  baptism.  This  now  took  place 
and  five  children  were  one  after  another  offered  by  their 
fathers  to  the  Lord  and  baptized  into  His  death  after  I  had 
spoken  at  some  length  on  the  text,  "Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,"  etc.,  because,  in  view  of  the  many  conten- 
tions about  infant  baptism,  it  seemed  needful  to  set  forth 
distinctly  the  foundation  of  our  belief  and  practice. 

There  followed  another  short  interval  until  the  love  feast 
was  entirely  ready.  With  truly  blissful  sentiments,  I  walked 
meanwhile  up  and  down  in  the  shade  as  far  as  the  dense  un- 
derbrush permitted,  and  feasted  my  eyes  upon  the  most  in- 
teresting sight  of  the  activity  and  goodness  of  the  souls  as- 
sembled here.  There  were  eighty- five  souls  belonging  to  the 
Moravian  Church  present  at  this  love  feast,  and  in  addition, 
some  non-members,  wives  of  brethren.  The  one  hundred  cups, 
ordered  in  Philadelphia  some  time  ago  by  Brother  Martin 
through  me,  and  an  appropriate  bell,  had  long  before  arrived 
safely.  They  created  general  joy.  The  latter  was  used  this 
day  for  the  first  time ;  it  must  hang  under  the  roof,  however, 
until  it  can  be  securely  fastened  outside.     The  love  feast,  at 


258  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

which  we  sang  German  and  English  verses  and  had  pleasant 
and  grateful  talk  with  general  participation  among  the  breth- 
ren and  sisters,  was  a  love  feast  in  deed  and  in  truth.  I  could 
not  help  calling  the  attention  of  the  brethren  to  the  coincidence 
which  also  struck  my  dear  Brother  Eugene  Frueauf,  of  their 
choosing  the  17th  of  June  for  their  congregational  festival, 
in  memory  of  the  anniversary  of  the  cutting  of  the  first  tree 
for  the  construction  of  Herrnhut,  when  in  all  my  travels  I 
had  scarcely  found  a  place  anywhere  that  bore  so  striking  a 
resemblance  to  the  place  in  the  woods  where  Christian  David 
struck  his  axe  in  the  first  tree,  as  this  very  site  of  Goshen. 
The  only  exception  was  that  here  the  trees  are  so  much  thicker 
and  without  the  admixture  of  firs  and  pines.  The  brethren 
were  greatly  pleased  at  my  reference  to  this. 

Soon  the  preparations  for  the  Lord's  Supper  were  com- 
pleted. The  communicants  sat  in  a  square  in  front  of  me ; 
most  of  the  mothers  among  them  necessarily  had  their  young- 
est children  on  their  arms.  All  other  members  of  the  congre- 
gations beyond  the  age  of  childhood,  as  well  as  the  wives  who 
were  not  members  (some  of  whom  appeared  to  be  strongly 
moved  and  affected)  were  permitted  to  look  on  at  the  Lord's 
Supper.  The  outward  arrangements  were  very  seemly,  though 
plain,  and  suitable  to  the  circumstances.  It  must  remain  un- 
written how  the  presence  of  His  grace  revealed  itself  among 
us  at  the  first  partaking  of  the  flesh  and  blood  of  our  Saviour 
in  this  wilderness.  For  me  and  my  companion,  Brother  Frue- 
auf, the  impression  will  never  fade.  At  the  close  the  general 
emotion  and  the  melting  of  our  hearts  into  a  bond  of  love  and 
heartfelt  union  with  Him,  to  whom  we  vowed  ourselves  anew, 
was  quite  overwhelming.  Twenty  persons,  including  ourselves, 
partook  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Thus  the  celebration  of  this 
ever  memorable  day  closed  about  four  o'clock. 

After  a  short  stay  among  the  dear  souls,  we  took  leave 
of  each  one,  young  and  old,  who  could  not  come  to  us  again 
in  the  evening,  as  most  of  them  desired  to  do,  and  went  slowly 
home   full   of   praise   and   thanks   for  the   day  the   Lord  had 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  259 

given  us  as  we  reviewed  with  pleasure  the  scenes  of  our  more 
than  two- weeks'  stay.  Even  before  our  last  supper  at  our 
kind  hosts',  some  brethren  and  sisters  appeared  there  in  or- 
der to  engage  in  kindly  conversations  with  us.  While  I  walked 
silently  up  and  down  before  the  house  in  the  moonlight,  the 
brethren  and  neighbors  arrived  in  ever  greater  numbers.  I 
noticed  that  the  young  men  did  not  mind  bringing  the  benches 
from  Goshen  almost  a  half  mile  and  across  the  creek.  I  was 
then  asked  to  hold  a  farewell  meeting  and  evening  services 
with  the  large  number  present,  for  which  Martin  selected  for 
me  a  very  fitting  and  beautiful  farewell  hymn  which  I  had 
never  before  heard.  This,  the  seventh  discourse  of  the  day 
— some  long,  some  short — proved  quite  easy  for  me,  and  with 
prayer,  kneeling,  formed  a  beautiful  conclusion  of  my  work 
here.  There  followed  a  cordial  and  sorrowful  farewell  of  all 
the  dear  souls,  except  the  members  of  the  household,  and  then 
a  quiet  rest. 

Often  during  this  time,  and  particularly  on  this  day,  the 
whole  work  of  the  Lord,  which  is  unfolding  here,  appeared 
to  me  like  a  fresh,  thriving  scion  grafted  from  an  old  stem 
upon  one  still  in  the  vigor  of  youth.  This  was  especially  true 
when  I  thought  of  many  of  these  dear  souls  whom  I  knew 
years  ago  in  Carolina  as  nearly  or  wholly  dead  branches.  Truly 
the  Lord  has  caused  a  mustard  seed  to  germinate  which  may 
become  a  fine  tree.  May  He  now  also  present  us  with  the 
right  man  to  take  care  of  this  most  promising  work  and  to 
keep  our  dear  brethren  here  in  the  quiet  simplicity  in  which 
they  evidently  now  live.  May  He  continue  to  bestow  grace 
upon  Brother  Martin  Häuser  as  heretofore,  that  he  may  do 
what  he  can  to  keep  the  little  congregation  together  and  to 
build  it  up.  He  appears  to  me  to  be  an  exceedingly  loyal  broth- 
er, caring  above  everything  for  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

Early  on  the  18th,  preparations  for  our  return  journey  in  a 
little  one-horse  vehicle  were  made.  After  our  last  breakfast 
with  the  dear  family  and  a  cordial  parting  with  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  household,  we  started  with  Brother  Martin  on  our 


260  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

way  to  his  brother  Jacob's  on  the  Flatrock  River.  The  path 
was  somewhat  better  and  more  distinct  than  the  one  on  which 
we  had  come.  As  we  proceeded  very  slowly,  Brother  Frueauf 
walked  the  entire  distance,  while  I  held  a  long  pleasant,  im- 
portant, final  conversation  with  Brother  Martin  Häuser. 
Toward  noon  we  arrived  at  Jacob  Hauser 's,  where  preparations 
were  made  at  once  to  announce  by  messengers,  who  were  sent 
out  to  the  ferries,  etc.,  that  I  would  preach  the  next  day,  for 
through  a  misunderstanding  the  earlier  announcement  had 
been  revoked.  This  seemed  very  necessary,  since  on  the  pre- 
ceding Sunday,  as  related  above,  the  preaching  service  could 
not  be  attended  by  many  people  who  were  eager  to  hear  what 
the  Brethren's  belief  is  amidst  the  various  winds  of  doctrine 
which  roar  in  this  wilderness.  At  least  our  brethren  were 
very  anxious  for  it  and  I  myself  thought  it  important  in 
order  to  preclude,  from  the  start,  many  rumors  and  calumnies. 

Sunday,  the  19th,  was  a  fine  day,  though  very  hot.  After 
breakfast,  the  Häuser  brothers  were  busy  putting  up  a  plat- 
form which  was  to  serve  as  a  pulpit  for  me  in  the  neighbor- 
ing sugar-maple  grove.  Soon  a  suitable  number  of  seats,  or 
benches,  of  boards  and  fence  rails,  were  also  ready  under  the 
shade  of  these  fine  trees.  By  noon,  the  usual  preaching  time, 
a  large  crowd  had  arrived  by  carriage,  on  horseback,  and  on 
foot,  from  Columbus  and  the  whole  vicinity,  and  camped  in 
the  grove.  With  true  concern  of  heart  and  fervent  prayer  to 
the  Lord  that  He  might  give  me  according  to  His  word  what 
was  needful,  I  then  preached  an  hour  and  a  half  on  the  text 
already  mentioned,  "Other  foundation  [can  no  man  lay-]." 
I  particularly  emphasized  that  in  this  passage  the  apostle 
taught  [us]  how  to  look  upon  differences  in  Christian  views 
and  the  preference  of  this  or  that  teacher  or  doctrine,  if  only 
saving  faith  in  Jesus  Crucified  was  the  foundation.  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  being  able  to  infer  from  the  various  utterances 
of  my  auditors,  some  of  whom  expressed  themselves  to  me 
at  some  length,  that  what  was  said  had  been  a  word  in  due 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  261 

season   and    was   well    received.      Several    brethren   had    also 
come   from   Goshen  whom   we   here   again  bade   farewell. 

After  quite  a  cheerful  dinner  and  some  lively  talks  at 
Jacob  Hauser's  with  many  of  my  listeners  invited  to  stay 
according  to  the  hospitable  custom  of  this  country,  about  four 
o'clock  we  started  with  Martin  on  our  way  to  Columbus,  and 
arrived  in  good  time.  The  condition  of  my  chest  made  it 
inadvisable  to  preach  again,  as  I  was  expected  to  do.  Here 
I  had  the  unspeakable  joy  of  receiving  a  letter  from  my  good 
wife  for  the  first  and  only  time  on  the  whole  trip.  We  went 
over  the  letter  carefully  together.  Then  came  the  time  for 
sorrowful  parting  with  dear  Martin,  whom  I  shall  never  for- 
get.    He  returned  the  same  evening  as   far  as  his  brother's. 

[From  Columbus,  Indiana,  to  Gnadenhutten,  Ohio] 
By  this  time  the  stage  coach  for  Madison  was  finally  run- 
ning. We  left  on  it  early  on  the  20th,  at  half  past  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  in  company  with  a  merchant  of  this 
place,  who  had  already  traveled  with  us  on  the  steamer  from 
Wheeling.  The  multitude  of  mosquitos  at  this  early  hour, 
particularly  in  the  low  places,  is  inconceivable.  They  flew 
into  our  eyes  by  thousands  and  could  only  halfway  be  warded 
off  by  great  effort  and  by  smoke.  As  far  as  Brush  Creek, 
mentioned  on  our  way  here,  the  road  was  as  bad  as  the 
dexterity  of  our  coachman  was  admirable,  as  he  guided  the 
coach  and  four  between  the  holes  in  the  road,  and  where  this 
was  impossible,  through  the  woods.  From  there  on,  the  ef- 
fects of  the  general  road  repairs  which  had  occurred  mean- 
while were  very  noticeable.  After  breakfasting  at  Solon,  we 
reached  Vernon  as  early  as  eleven  o'clock.  As  the  road  was 
improved  still  more  from  here  on,  we  would  have  reached 
Madison  in  very  good  time  in  spite  of  a  violent,  but  short 
thunderstorm,  had  not  our  new  driver  made  up  his  mind  to 
walk  his  horses,  even  on  the  last  twelve  excellent  miles,  out 
of  resentment  at  reproaches  he  had  received  earlier  about  one 
of  them  which  had  fallen.  In  this  he  did  us  a  very  bad  turn, 
for  had  we  arrived  at  Madison  even  a  half  hour  earlier  we 


262  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

might  have  continued  our  journey  at  once  on  a  steamer  which 
was  just  coming  up.  As  it  was,  it  was  nearly  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening  before  we  reached  there.  The  result  was  a 
most  tedious  day  at  Madison,  since  no  steamer  to  Cincinnati 
appeared  until  the  evening  of  the  21st,  except  one  quite  early 
in  the  morning,  of  which  we  had  not  been  advised.  Since 
it  is  a  long  distance  from  the  inn  to  the  place  of  embarkation, 
in  the  afternoon  we  had  our  baggage  taken  to  the  floating 
wharf,  and  spent  the  afternoon  and  evening  at  an  inn,  where 
there  was  an  opportunity  to  watch  the  steamers  approaching 
from  afar.  Our  patience  was  sorely  tried,  for  it  was  midnight 
before  a  steamboat  approached.     We  hastened  to  meet  it. 

Since  the  short  stop  of  a  steamer  is  difficult  and  danger- 
ous— just  recently  one  exploded  at  Wheeling  on  such  an  oc- 
casion— one  is  very  thankful,  if  in  this  precipitate  and  reck- 
less rush  in  the  night,  one  gets  safely  aboard  with  his  things. 
We  had  already  boarded  the  "Volante"  and  it  had  started  on, 
when  to  my  dismay  I  discovered  that  part  of  my  baggage  had 
been  left  on  the  dock.  I  succeeded  in  recovering  it,  however, 
with  the  aid  of  the  small  boat.  I  was  the  only  one  who  found 
an  unoccupied  berth  in  the  magnificent  cabin  of  this  large 
steamer.  Brother  Frueauf  and  some  others  had  to  be  satisfied 
with  beds  which  were  made  up  on  the  cabin  table.  The  sight 
of  this  crowded  cabin  with  fifty  odd  occupied  berths,  in  which 
sleeping  passengers  were  thrown  up  a  few  inches  at  every 
pulse-like  vibration,  was  quite  singular.  We  would  not  have 
got  much  rest  if  we  had  not  stopped  for  a  few  hours  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  River  where  considerable  freight 
had  to  be  taken  aboard. 

The  ride  from  Madison  to  Cincinnati  amounts  to  about 
one  hundred  miles,  and  was  on  the  whole  quite  pleasant  on 
the  day  of  the  22nd,  though  from  time  to  time  we  were  both- 
ered by  showers.  We  made  an  interesting  acquaintance  with 
a  traveler  who  had  been  in  Fairfield  with  Brother  Luckenbach 
only  two  weeks  ago,  and  had  been  truly  edified  by  him.  Be- 
sides, among  the  numerous  passengers  there  were  many  who 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  263 

had  just  been  saved  from  a  steamer  which  had  been  wrecked 
on  the  Mississippi  by  a  snag.  As  is  customary  on  the  large 
steamers  of  the  western  rivers,  there  was  card  playing  in  a 
corner  of  the  large  cabin  almost  all  day  long.  Quite  a  few 
professional  gamblers  are  said  to  spend  most  of  their  time 
on  the  steamers,  in  order  to  plunder  the  inexperienced.  Such 
things,  as  is  well  known,  are  absolutely  not  tolerated  on  the 
northern  waters ;  in  general,  a  strikingly  different  tone  prevails 
in  the  whole  manner  and  conversation  of  the  people  coming 
up  from  the  south,  particularly  from  New  Orleans. 

In  the  afternoon  as  we  approached  Cincinnati,  we  enjoyed 
many  exceedingly  interesting  sights,  for  in  this  region,  both  in 
Kentucky  and  in  Indiana,  the  houses,  large  as  well  as  small, 
are  found  more  frequently  on  the  banks  than  elsewhere.  Rarely, 
however,  did  they  show  to  good  advantage  on  account  of 
the  exceedingly  high  bluffs  on  the  river  and  the  level  sur- 
faces upon  which  most  of  them  are  situated.  About  five 
o'clock  we  landed  safely  at  Cincinnati  and  for  the  time  being 
we  took  leave  of  the  western  steamers,  very  thankful  to  have 
escaped  unharmed,  since  stories  of  accidents  thereon  were 
quite  frequent  just  then. 

In  accordance  with  our  promise  to  Captain  Schulz  of  the 
cavalry,  son-in-law  of  the  rich  old  Mr.  Brennan,  we  drove 
at  once  in  a  livery  cab  from  the  large  Broadway  Hotel,  where 
we  stopped,  to  his  family's  summer  hotel.  This  was  most 
beautifully  located  on  the  river  about  three  miles  upstream 
outside  the  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schulz,  as  well  as  old  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Brennan,  received  us  with  the  greatest  kindness  and  in- 
sisted on  our  staying  a  couple  of  days.  These  were  spent  prin- 
cipally in  the  city,  where  we  took  in  all  the  sights.  Cincinnati 
is  decidedly  the  largest  city  in  the  whole  west  and  at  present 
in  every  respect  a  flourishing  commercial  and  manufacturing 
town.  It  is  advantageously  located  on  a  wide  level  stretch 
and  by  means  of  the  splendid,  completed  Miami  Canal,  which 
begins  at  Dayton,  the  city  enjoys  the  best  connection  with  the 
richest  and  most  fertile  section  of  the  whole  state  of  Ohio, 


264  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

which  lies  between  the  Great  and  the  Little  Miami  and  is  justly- 
called  the  garden  spot  of  Ohio.  In  order  not  to  be  distracted, 
I  delivered  only  the  most  interesting  letters  of  introduction 
which  I  had  with  me  and  thereby  made  several  very  pleasant 
acquaintances.  I  was  sorry  we  failed  to  meet  Mr.  Thomas 
Heckenwaelder,  the  present  sheriff  of  the  county,  a  Bethle- 
hem boy  who  was  born  in  my  present  room.  However,  it 
was  gratifying  to  learn  that  he  had  become  an  honorable  and 
highly  esteemed  man.  Not  a  few  Germans  are  residing  here, 
and  among  them  are  many  demagogic  agitators,  professors,  and 
the  like.  Most  of  the  Germans  are  confectioners  or  in  similar 
lines  of  business.  Sometimes  their  musical  talents  serve  as 
an  attraction  for  their  establishments.  Their  demagogy  is 
generally  considered  a  freak,  since  nobody  in  America  can 
understand  what  merit  there  is  in  thinking  that  which  every- 
body believes  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  rapidity  with  which 
a  magnificent  city  of  30,000  inhabitants,  very  much  like  Phil- 
adelphia, has  grown  up  here,  at  an  immense  distance  from  the 
sea,  causes  just  amazement.  I  can  still  well  remember  the 
time  when  this  city  existed  only  in  design  and  when  the  name 
proposed  and  adopted  for  it  gave  perhaps  not  an  unjust  of- 
fense to  my  boyish  wisdom  as  the  nominative  plural  of  a  mas- 
culine name. 

On  the  morning  of  June  25th,  Mr.  Schulz  gave  us  the  aid 
of  his  carriage  in  proceeding  upon  our  journey.  In  fine 
weather,  he  drove  us  on  a  road,  mostly  good,  to  Hamilton, 
a  very  considerable  town  on  the  Miami  River,  twenty-five 
miles  away,  by  way  of  Carthage  where  an  excellent  breakfast 
was  served  us.  He  drove,  for  the  most  part,  near  the  canal, 
past  his  large  establishment,  consisting  of  a  steam  mill  and  a 
distillery,  and  through  the  continuously  rich  country,  splendidly 
cultivated,  where  the  barley  harvest  was  just  beginning.  We 
stopped  over  night  at  Hamilton,  and  it  was  his  intention  to 
take  us  the  next  day  to  Dayton  by  way  of  a  Shaker  establish- 
ment near  Miami  [s]  burg.  However,  on  Sunday,  June  26th, 
such  a  fearful  and  incessant  rain  began  that  we  found  it  ad- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  265 

visable  to  remain  at  Hamilton,  although  the  rain  and  the  re- 
sulting mud  shut  us  up  in  the  house  and  made  it  im- 
possible for  us  even  to  attend  the  remote  church.  Thus  we 
observed  Sunday  only  by  getting  bread  and  butter  instead  of 
dinner.  However,  it  was  not  distinguished  on  the  bill  from 
a  regular  dinner.  As  there  was  little  prospect  of  better  weather 
and  since  in  any  case  the  roads  had  become  very  bad,  we  de- 
cided in  the  evening  to  continue  our  journey  by  the  next  day's 
stage  coach  and  took  grateful  leave  of  Mr.  Schulz. 

On  the  27th,  the  rainy  weather  still  continued,  but  cleared 
up  during  the  forenoon.  When  at  half  past  three  in  the 
morning  we  crossed  the  Miami  bridge  on  the  regular  stage 
road  and  made  a  few  miles,  it  became  apparent  from  unmis- 
takable signs  that  the  river,  which  must  be  recrossed  again 
on  this  road,  was  too  swollen  to  make  fording  practicable. 
We  therefore  had  to  turn  back,  drive  through  Hamilton  once 
more,  and  try  to  proceed  on  this  side  upon  roads  which,  nor- 
mally bad,  were  made  much  worse  by  the  rain.  We  then  trav- 
eled through  Middletown  where  we  again  met  our  friend,  Mr. 
Zehender,  at  breakfast;  and  through  Franklin,  Miami [s] burg, 
and  Alexanderville,  in  all  of  which  places  many  Germans 
are  living,  to  the  very  notable  and  flourishing  town  of  Dayton. 
Twice  we  forded  creeks  which  did  not  seem  to  be  large  (or- 
dinarily), but  at  the  time  were  swollen  so  much  that  the  water 
stood  several  inches  deep  in  our  coach.  Among  our  changing 
traveling  companions,  we  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  with 
astonishment  how  the  contemporary  interest  in  religion,  so 
closely  akin  to  that  in  politics,  manifests  itself :  namely,  in 
outbreaks  of  the  pettiest  disputes — which  very  easily  become 
violent — about  Arminian  and  Calvinistic  tenets,  etc.  Withal  it  is 
astonishing  how  the  good  people  can  quote  Scripture.  A  stu- 
dent of  the  Presbyterian  Institute  at  Oxford  absolutely  wanted 
to  declare  an  old  gentleman  an  infidel  because  he  believed 
that  even  now  miracles  might  still  happen.  In  short,  it  is 
incredible  what  confusion  concerning  religious  matters  is 
reigning  in  people's  minds.     From  Dayton  to  Springfield  we 


266  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

had  a  courteous  and  educated  company  which  delightfully 
shortened  the  otherwise  tedious  and  very  bad  road.  In  the 
vicinity  of  Mad  River,  however,  it  led  through  prairies,  now 
transformed  into  the  widest  and  most  fertile  pastures.  As  is 
well  known,  the  western  prairies,  whose  great  stretches,  how- 
ever, begin  still  further  west  in  the  state  of  Illinois,  are  im- 
mense, treeless,  grassgrown,  and  in  part  very  fertile  plains. 
I  had  not  seen  any  before,  and  was  delighted  not  a  little  with 
the  many  interesting  plants  I  observed  here. 

Further  on  we  met  with  an  accident.  The  main  pole  bolt 
of  the  coach  suddenly  broke  off  in  a  deep  mud  hole  into 
which  the  coach  sank.  We  could  alight  without  difficulty, 
however.  While  some  of  the  passengers  stayed  with  the 
coach  and  baggage  until  a  new  pole  bolt  could  be  procured 
from  the  next  place,  others  of  us  walked  slowly  a  few  miles 
ahead,  as  well  as  we  could  in  the  mud.  My  companion  was 
the  candidate  for  the  Assembly,  who  was  endeavoring  to  make 
friends  for  the  next  election,  and  for  that  purpose  he  called 
at  the  houses  here  and  there.  Finally,  we  came  to  a  stop 
and  were  regaled  with  refreshing  milk.  Here  we  awaited  the 
arrival  of  the  coach  and  now  had  to  ride  very  slowly  in  the 
darkness  until  ten  o'clock  before  we  reached  Springfield,  the 
next  station.  The  branch  stage  line,  which  we  were  on,  con- 
nects here  with  the  main  line  from  Cincinnati.  The  Cincinnati 
coach  had  not  yet  arrived  because  it  had  had  the  misfortune 
of  losing  a  horse  in  the  deep  water ;  thus,  after  a  light  supper, 
we  had  the  advantage  of  a  refreshing  rest  of  an  hour  and  a 
half  on  a  cot. 

Soon  after  the  28th  of  June  had  begun,  however,  we  were 
on  the  road  again  and  had  to  cover  about  thirty-six  miles  in 
fog  and  dampness  on  a  corduroy  road,  which  for  the  most 
part  is  very  bad..  We  did  not  pass  through  any  town,  but 
through  botanically  curious  plains  or  half -prairies,  as  they 
are  called,  remarkable  from  a  botanical  point  of  view,  which 
when  it  grew  daylight  greatly  engaged  my  attention.  Besides 
some  very  badly  swollen  creeks  had  to  be  forded.     After  a 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  267 

poor  breakfast  we  approached  Columbus,  the  capital  of  the 
state  of  Ohio,  on  the  Scioto,  where  there  was  again  extraor- 
dinarily fertile  and  well-cultivated  land.  This  town  is  already- 
very  important  because  it  is  the  seat  of  government.  We  should 
have  liked  to  have  got  something  to  eat  at  the  magnificent 
hotel  where  we  stopped  at  noontide;  but  before  it  was  ready, 
we  had  to  obey  the  call  to  the  coach  again,  as  terribly  black 
thunderclouds  were  gathering.  After  a  long  roundabout  way, 
just  when  we  were  crossing  a  greatly  swollen  stream  with 
much  difficulty,  the  storm  burst  with  such  a  downpour  as  I 
have  rarely  seen.  Fortunately  it  did  not  last  long ;  on  the  long, 
tedious  further  ride  we  only  had  to  suffer  from  the  corduroy 
road  which  had  become  still  worse  from  the  rain  and  from 
hunger  which  was  at  last  tolerably  appeased  at  a  miserable 
hovel  about  four  o'clock.  Toward  evening  we  got  unexpect- 
edly on  a  good  road  again  at  the  nice  little  town  of  Granville 
on  the  Licking  River,  and  into  a  beautiful  region  which,  how- 
ever, was  soon  concealed  by  darkness.  Soon  after  nine  o'clock, 
however,  we  safely  arrived  at  the  destination  of  this  our  166- 
mile  coach  journey,  the  town  of  Newark,  on  that  part  of  the 
great  Ohio  Canal  which  has  already  been  completed.  Here 
we  could  rest  again  in  excellent  beds  after  a  ride  of  forty- 
one  hours.  It  seemed  encouraging  for  the  complete  restora- 
tion of  my  health  that  I  could  withstand  such  a  trip  with  so 
little  fatigue. 

We  had  to  remain,  in  delightful  weather,  at  Newark  all 
day  long  on  the  29th,  because  no  comfortable  canal  boat,  such 
as  we  wished,  left  in  the  direction  of  Gnadenhuetten,  fifty 
odd  miles  distant,  till  the  30th,  at  about  nine  o'clock.  These 
canal  boats,  four  of  which  usually  come  and  go  daily,  are  very 
spacious,  and  at  present  those  going  to  Lake  Erie  are  heavily 
loaded  with  flour  for  the  New  York  market.  At  their  prow 
they  are  provided  with  very  comfortable  and  usually  beauti- 
fully decorated  cabins,  in  which  ten  or  twelve  passengers  find 
respectable  accommodations  and  good  board  at  two  and  a  half 
cents  a  mile.     They  are  drawn  by  two  horses  and,  including 


268  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

the  stops  at  the  numerous  locks,  make  about  three  or  four 
miles  an  hour. 

The  first  day's  ride  through  country  which  in  parts  was 
very  fertile  was  very  pleasant.  Once  we  passed  a  magnificent 
cornfield  of  150  acres — an  acre  often  yields  one  hundred 
bushels.  In  the  afternoon  the  canal  descended  into  the  bed 
of  the  Licking  River,  where  there  are  very  romantic  banks 
for  about  six  miles,  and  some  coniferous  trees,  the  only  ones 
we  noticed  in  the  West.  Before  dark,  we  reached  the  two- 
mile  branch  canal  which  leads  to  Dresden,  a  town  of  some 
size  on  the  Muskingum,  and  soon  afterwards  we  rode  along 
the  side  of  this  river.  As  far  as  the  Licking,  our  ride  through 
the  locks  was  descending.  From  there  on,  where  we  left  its 
bed  again,  the  canal  is  fed  by  the  water  of  the  Tuscarawas, 
which  we  usually  incorrectly  call  the  Muskingum.  The  river 
receives  this  name  only  after  its  juncture  with  the  Walhonding 
at  Coshocton.  Consequently  one  ascends  through  the  locks 
toward  Gnadenhuetten.  At  present  this  enterprise,  the  benefit 
and  usefulness  of  which  for  this  section  of  the  country  is 
quite  obvious,  is  only  completed  and  in  operation  from  Cleve- 
land on  Lake  Erie  to  Hebron,  eight  miles  below  Newark.  In 
the  course  of  this  year,  the  canal  will,  in  all  probability,  be 
completed  as  far  as  Chillicothe  and  in  the  next,  reach  the  Ohio. 
An  immeasurable  tract  of  the  most  fertile  country,  which  up 
to  the  present  has  had  no  sale  for  its  products,  will  thereby 
immediately  obtain  a  desirable  market.  Even  now  the  results 
everywhere  manifested  are  incredible.  The  condition  of  the 
inhabitants  about  Gnadenhuetten,  particularly,  has  greatly 
changed  for  the  better  this  last  year,  and  it  now  only  takes 
industry  to  make  a  secure  livelihood,  even  though  such  ex- 
travagant prices  as  have  been  obtained  for  wheat  this  year — 
almost  as  much  as  at  Bethlehem — cannot  last.  At  fifty  cents 
a  bushel,  however,  these  productive  fields  can  be  tilled  at  not 
a  little  profit. 

During  the  night,  while  we  were  resting  in  comfortable 
berths,  we  passed,  without  being  aware  of  it,  the  great  acque- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  269 

duct  which  carries  the  canal  over  the  Walhonding  at  Coshoc- 
ton, the  former  Gosachguenk  of  missionary  history.  On  the 
morning  of  July  1st,  the  pleasure  of  our  ride  was  oftentimes 
curtailed  by  showers ;  yet  we  could  be  on  deck  most  of  the 
time.  We  now  passed  the  insignificant  [village  of]  New 
Comerstown  and  came  to  the  former  Society  land,  and  for 
the  first  time  to  regions  where  I  had  been  before.  A  new  lit- 
tle town  on  the  canal,  Salebury,  is  arising  on  the  former  Salem 
or  lower  tract.  From  there  on,  I  partly  remembered  the  sur- 
roundings. We  were  told  that  the  lock  where  one  lands  for 
Gnadenhuetten  was  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town;  this 
is  certainly  a  great  handicap  for  the  use  of  the  canal,  because 
the  Tuscarawas  River  flows  between  the  community  and  the 
landing  place  and  cuts  it  off  from  the  canal.  Nevertheless, 
Brothers  Demuth  and  Wuensch  have  built  a  storehouse  at  the 
lock,  and  Brother  Huber,  who  emigrated  from  Switzerland 
some  years  ago,  has  built  a  cigar  manufactory. 

[The  Moravian  Settlement  at  Gnadenhuetten,  Ohio] 
I  was  somewhat  at  a  loss  as  to  how  we  should  get  to 
Gnadenhuetten  with  our  baggage  and  quite  uncertain  as  to 
whether  or  not  we  were  expected.  It  was  therefore  the  more 
gratifying  to  learn  at  Brother  Huber 's  that  it  was  taken  for 
granted  that  we  would  arrive  this  very  day  and  that  our  com- 
ing would  cause  great  rejoicing.  We  stopped  at  his  house 
with  our  baggage,  and  he  hastened  over  the  river — it  was 
about  noon — to  tell  of  our  arrival  to  Sam  Huebner,  who  in- 
tended to  fetch  us  over  the  river  with  his  one-horse  vehicle. 
In  a  little  while  he  himself  came  across  and  welcomed  us 
most  heartily ;  he  came  on  foot,  however,  because  the  river  was 
too  high  to  ford  and  there  was  no  other  ferry  than  a  small 
bateau.34  Since  the  rain  had  ceased,  we  were  glad  to  go 
with  him  on  foot — our  baggage  being  sent  after  us — to  Gnad- 
enhuetten, where  eight  years  ago  I  spent  four  interesting 
weeks  at  the  time   of    our   negotiation   with   Governor   Cass, 


34A  bateau  was  a  small   flat-bottomed  boat. 


270  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

which  produced  such  beneficent  results  for  the  Society  for 
the  Heathen,  for  our  Indians,  and  especially  for  this  whole 
region.  For  without  personal  observation  nobody  can  fully 
comprehend  the  disadvantage  which  a  large  unsaleable  tract 
of  good  land — such  as  the  12,000  acres  which  belongs  to  the 
Society — carries  with  it  out  in  this  western  country.  This 
is  due  to  the  poor  population  which  is  attracted  by  merely 
leaseable  land,  and  to  the  inevitable  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
all  improvements  on  unsaleable  territory.  Only  the  most  un- 
limited, free  power  of  disposal  of  landed  property  is  consistent 
with  the  kind  of  prosperity  demanded  by  these  regions.  It 
should  not  be  wondered  at,  therefore,  that  all  reservations  of 
this  kind  are  everywhere  viewed  askance  in  the  vicinity.  This 
is  the  case,  also,  with  our  Erie  land,  where,  however,  there  is 
fortunately  no  legal  obstacle  to  prevent  changing  the  conditions 
as  soon  as  we  wish. 

It  is  quite  comprehensible,  indeed,  why,  during  the  nine- 
ties, people  acted  just  as  they  did  in  regard  to  the  so-called 
Muskingum  Society  land,  when  no  experience  could  give  en- 
lightenment on  all  these  matters.  Now  it  is  known  that  noth- 
ing more  certainly  foredoomed  to  failure  could  have  been 
tried.  Now  there  is  no  one,  at  least  no  one  who  knows  the 
nature  of  the  new  states,  who  could  commit  the  formerly 
widespread  folly  of  investing  capital  in  uncultivated  land, 
be  it  ever  so  fertile,  which  is  allowed  to  lie  uncultivated  in 
the  expectation  that  the  increased  price  after  thirty  years  or 
more  would  yield  rich  compensation  and  profit.  Among 
others,  it  cost  the  late  Brother  Cunow  almost  his  entire  for- 
tune. The  price  does  not  rise  at  all  perceptibly  without  cul- 
tivation, for  even  in  spite  of  the  present  good  prospects  on 
account  of  the  canal,  no  more  can  be  obtained  than  thirty 
years  ago  for  wild  land,  no  matter  how  good,  while  a  properly 
improved  plantation  has  a  sixfold  value.  The  great  cost  of 
cultivation,  the  worthlessness  of  the  wood,  and  the  quantity  of 
wild  land  still  inexhaustible  for  a  long  time  to  come  furnish 
a  sufficient  explanation. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  271 

However,  I  return  to  our  arrrival  at  Gnadenhuetten,  where 
we  were  taken  in  the  bateau  by  the  youngest  son  of  David 
Peter,  an  excellent  old  friend  whom  we  greeted  in  passing. 
We  got  the  kindest  and  most  hospitable  reception  from  our 
dear  Brother  and  Sister  Huebner  in  their  pretty,  new,  up-to- 
date  house,  for  which  the  former  one-story  cabin-like  structure, 
in  which  I  once  spent  four  weeks  at  Rauschenberger's,  now 
serves  as  a  kitchen.  The  rest  of  the  little  town  also,  though 
small  and  containing,  apart  from  the  quite  appropriate  church, 
only  ten  or  twelve  houses  in  all,  has  gained  much  in  appear- 
ance by  Demuth's  well-appointed  inn  and  the  still  uncompleted, 
two-story  brick  house  of  Brother  David  Peter. 

On  account  of  the  rareness  of  a  visit  and  the  general  re- 
joicing of  the  brethren,  I  realized  at  once  that  I  must  spend 
two  Sundays  in  these  parts  in  order  to  preach  at 
Sharon  and  in  order  to  do  as  much  visiting  here 
as  was  feasible.  This  was  partly  the  reason  that  I  was  in- 
duced to  abandon  my  intention  of  going  on  the  canal  to  Lake 
Erie  and  thence  by  way  of  Niagara  into  the  New  York  canal, 
for  it  threatened  to  take  too  much  time  and  money.  To  be 
sure,  it  would  not  have  taken  much  longer  time  for  the  jour- 
ney itself,  although  it  would  have  been  more  than  twice  as 
far  as  by  way  of  Pittsburgh,  but  a  considerably  longer  stay 
at  several  places  would  have  been  unavoidable. 

As  early  as  July  2nd,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  a 
very  agreeable  visit  from  Brother  Jacob  Blickensdoerfer,  of 
Dover,  a  man  as  sensible  and  esteemed  as  any  in  the  whole 
state,  and  a  worthy  member  of  the  Sharon  committee,  with 
whom  I  have  been  in  friendly  relations  for  some  time.  He 
stayed  all  day  with  us  and  accompanied  us  to  Sharon  on  Sun- 
day, the  third.  As  is  well  known,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
drive  here  a  couple  of  miles  without  having  to  cross  the  river. 
This  day,  however,  we  could  ford  it  quite  well  with  Brother 
Huebner's  one-horse  vehicle.  As  it  was  fine  weather,  a  very 
large  congregation  had  assembled  about  the  little  church,  and 
I  greeted  with  pleasure  the  members  whom  I  knew.    In  a  short 


272  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

address  to  the  congregation  I  conveyed  to  them  the  heartiest 
greetings  of  the  Provincial  Helpers'  Conference,  and  told 
them  something  of  my  visit  in  Indiana  and  of  the  rising  little 
congregation  there  in  order  to  enlist  their  sympathy  for  it. 
I  then  preached  in  the  German  language  with  heartfelt  sin- 
cerity. We  dined  at  noon  at  John  Blickensdoerfer's  and  spent 
a  very  pleasant  afternoon  there,  in  the  company  of  many 
brethren.  After  several  other  short  visits  we  drove  back  to 
Gnadenhuetten  toward  evening. 

During  a  great  part  of  the  following  week,  our  enjoyment 
was  rather  curtailed  by  continuous,  and  in  part  heavy,  rains. 
Besides,  first  Brother  Frueauf  and  then  I  myself  was  some- 
what afflicted  with  diarrhoea  and  nausea,  which  soon  abated, 
however.  On  Thursday,  in  spite  of  the  bad  weather,  Brother 
Frueauf  rode,  by  way  of  the  old  mission  place  of  Goshen, 
where  he  visited  the  grave  of  the  late  Brother  Zeisberger,  to 
Dover  to  Brother  Jacob  Blickensdoerfer's.  This  mission  house 
was  burnt  a  short  while  ago  through  the  negligence  of  the 
wretched  Teichmann,  of  Christiansfeld,  to  whom  it  had  just 
been  sold.  Unfortunately  the  rain  and  my  ailment  frustrated 
our  driving  there  together  and  thence  to  Zoar  to  visit  the 
remarkable  and  very  flourishing  settlement,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Baeumler,  of  the  Wuerttembergers,  who  have  an  in- 
stitutional organization.  Brother  Frueauf,  however,  together 
with  Blickensdoerfer,  paid  a  visit  there  to  Baeumler's  great 
delight,  as  I  had  done  eight  years  ago.  Besides  taking  as 
many  botanical  walks  with  Brother  Huebner  as  the  weather 
permitted,  I  called  meanwhile  at  the  homes  of  all  the  Gnaden- 
huetten brethren.  I  also  had  a  long  business  call  from  Brother 
Boas  Walton,  my  agent,  on  the  matter  of  the  mission  land 
and  the  Cunow  property  of  which  I  am  executor.  The  meas- 
ures taken,  thank  God,  have  been  successful  so  far,  so  that 
this  whole  matter  is  being  settled  and  almost  half  the  fortune 
invested  will  be  saved  for  Brother  Cunow's  widow  after  all. 
I  was  also  so  fortunate  as  to  sell  a  good  piece  of  the  mission 
land  again. 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  273 

Saturday  afternoon  Brother  Frueauf  came  back.  The 
weather  finally  cleared  up  to  the  delight  of  everybody,  since 
the  rain  threatened  to  endanger  the  fine  crops.  However,  it 
grew  extraordinarily  cold  for  the  season.  However,  the 
weather  was  favorable  for  an  exceedingly  large  attendance 
at  the  Sunday  sermon  at  Gnadenhuetten  on  July  10th,  when 
I  first  conveyed  cordial  greetings  to  this  congregation,  also. 
I  then  opened  my  heart  to  them  on  the  text,  "Little  children 
abide  in  Him,"35  with  a  feeling  that  I  should .  .  .  . 36  probably 
never  preach  to  them  again.  After  a  hasty  dinner  we  went 
to  Dover  with  Brother  and  Sister  Huebner  and  their  entire 
family,  and  Sister  Peter,  who  were  invited  with  us  to  Blickens- 
doerfer's.  We  were  accompanied  by  most  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Gnadenhuetten,  young  and  old,  across  the  river  to  the 
lock  where  we  intended  to  await  a  boat  going  up  the  canal. 

[From  Gnadenhuetten  to  Bethlehem] 
In  this  large  and  happy  company,  our  almost  endless  wait 
did  not  become  irksome.  A  descending  boat,  loaded  with 
ninety  German  emigrants,  passed  by  and  gave  much  pleasure  to 
the  young  folks  of  Gnadenhuetten  who  rode  a  short  distance  on 
it.  We  were  surprised  to  hear  from  the  emigrants  that  this 
was  only  the  eighth  Sunday  since  their  departure  from  Europe ;'. 
so  fast  had  they  come  across  the  ocean,  up  the  North  River,37 
the  New  York  Canal,  Lake  Erie,  and  the  Ohio  Canal  to  this 
remote  region.  It  is  indeed  remarkable  how  much  this  cheap, 
inland  navigation  diminishes  distances  and  promotes  the  set- 
tling of  emigrants.  When  the  sun  was  about  to  set,  we  bade 
farewell  to  our  dear  Gnadenhuetten  people.  After  they  went 
home,  our  company  waited  in  vain  for  a  boat  in  the  penetrat- 
ing cold  until  after   nine  o'clock. 

We  were  just  thinking  of  making  arrangements  to  spend 
the  night  at  the  Hubers',  good  people  but  poor,  when  fortu- 
nately a  boat  appeared.    We  boarded  it  and  found  quite  toler- 


»5I  John  2:28. 
36Text  defective. 
37Hudson  River. 


274  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

able  accommodations.  In  spite  of  the  cold  night,  we  stayed 
up  to  view  by  starlight  the  somewhat  precarious  passage 
around  steep  Mount  Esra,  just  opposite  Gnadenhuetten,  and 
then  tried  to  get  some  rest  in  the  beds  which  had  been  made 
up  meanwhile.  We  would  have  succeeded,  if  from  time  to 
time  some  thirty  barrels  of  flour  which  were  on  deck  had  not 
been  rolled  to  and  fro  the  whole  length  of  the  boat  above  our 
heads.  An  inquiry  revealed  that  this  was  done  in  order  to 
float  the  boat,  which  had  run  aground  in  a  shallow  place.  After 
a  few  hours  the  efforts  were  successful,  and  the  episode  had 
this  advantage  that  we  were  able  to  spend  the  whole  night 
aboard  quietly  and  to  arrive  at  Blickensdoerfers'  at  a  suitable 
hour,  instead  of  arriving  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  for  the 
distance  was  only  fourteen  miles. 

Brother  and  Sister  Blickensdoerfer  received  us  with  great 
love  and  kindness  and  we  spent  a  pleasant  day  with  them  in 
the  thriving  little  commercial  town  of  Dover,  whose  existence 
has  brought  the  neighboring  New  Philadelphia,  three  miles 
beyond  the  river,  to  a  complete  standstill.  We  botanized  a 
great  deal  in  the  wide,  fertile  prairies,  plains  overgrow  with 
quite  low  bushes  scarcely  four  feet  high.  We  also  received 
much  important  and  instructive  information  from  Brother 
Blickensdoerfer,  who  serves  as  judge  and  possesses  an  un- 
commonly extensive  knowledge  of  the  whole  district.  He 
carries  on  a  considerable  commission  business  on  the  canal, 
and  at  the  same  time  he  is  chief  collecter  of  revenue  for  it. 

On  Tuesday,  the  12th,  he  helped  us  continue  our  journey 
and  with  Brother  Huebner  accompanied  us  on  our  departure 
before  sunrise  to  New  Philadelphia.  Here  after  taking  friendly 
leave  of  them,  we  boarded  the  stage  coach  for  Steubenville, 
which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  was  not  as  comfortable  as  the  pre- 
ceding ones.  For  the  first  eight  miles  we  surely  yearned  for 
a  comfortable  coach  for  the  road  was  the  worst  and  the  rough- 
est yet  encountered.  The  weather  was  pleasant.  From  Lees- 
burg,  where  we  had  breakfast,  to  our  night's  stopping  place, 
Annapolis,    formerly   called    Salem,    which    we    reached    very 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  275 

early,  the  road  was  better  and  quite  pleasant.  This  whole 
part  of  the  state  of  Ohio  consists  of  an  uninterrupted  suc- 
cession of  high  hills,  which  have  in  part  very  good  land,  how- 
ever, and  are  cultivated  in  an  amazing  way.  I  observed  with 
pleasure  the  increase  of  cultivation  during  the  past  eight  years, 
and  could  not  cease  wondering  at  the  relatively  small  quan- 
tity of  forest  through  which  we  passed,  reflecting  that  fifty 
years  ago  there  was  not  a  field  in  this  wide  tract. 

Early  on  the  13th,  we  continued  our  journey  through  even 
more  cultivated  and  hilly  country.  About  nine  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon  we  descended  from  Richmond  on  the  summit  of  the 
high  hills  which  skirt  the  river  everywhere  and  arrived  at  the 
important  manufacturing  town  of  Steubenville  on  the  Ohio. 
We  had  already  learned  at  Annapolis  that  we  could  not  pro- 
ceed to  Pittsburgh  this  day,  as  we  had  hoped,  for  the  Pitts- 
burgh coach  leaves  very  early  in  the  morning.  We  therefore 
had  to  wait  until  the  next  morning,  since  we  did  not  feel  like 
going  by  steamer.  There  was  no  lack  of  entertainment  and 
in  the  evening  when  the  heat,  and  also  a  toothache  with  which 
I  suffered,  abated,  we  saw  the  town  thoroughly.  In  the  en- 
suing night  I  noticed  for  the  first  time  again  traces  of  a 
cough,  without  surmising,  however,  that  within  a  week  after 
my  return  it  would  again  become  so  violent  and  tight  as  to 
threaten  to  deprive  me  of  any  benefit  from  my  journey.  This 
was  unfortunately  the  case,  although  during  the  rest  of  the 
journey  I  felt  perfectly  well  and  cheerful. 

After  proceeding  two  miles  on  this  side  on  our  way  to 
Pittsburgh,  we  took  the  ferry  across  the  Ohio  which,  in  this 
morning  hour,  was  covered  with  such  a  dense  fog  that  it  was 
impossible  to  see  a  ferry's  length  ahead.  Then  we  traveled 
through  the  thin  strip  of  the  state  of  Virginia  which  stretches 
between  the  river  and  Pennsylvania,  until  we  reached  Cross 
Roads  in  Pennsylvania.  Here  we  had  an  excellent  breakfast 
and  then  proceeded  very  fast  on  good  roads  in  a 
very  comfortable  coach,  in  spite  of  the  continuous  hills  over 
which  we  traveled.     Through  a  deep,  long  valley  we  finally 


276  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

arrived  again  about  noon  at  the  Ohio,  and  had  before 
us  a  short  distance,  wrapped  in  clouds  of  smoke,  the  great, 
populous  and  remarkable  city  of  Pittsburgh,  the  first  in 
America  in  productive  factories  of  all  kinds — especially  iron, 
glass,  cloth,  and  cotton  goods.  It  is  wonderfully  situated  in 
the  fork  of  the  two  great  streams,  the  Allegheny  and  the  Mo- 
nongahela,  which  from  here  on  form  the  Ohio,  with  inde- 
scribably beautiful  surroundings  and  with  gigantic  bridges 
over  these  two  rivers.  Instead  of  following  the  turnpike  up 
the  Monongahela  to  the  bridge,  the  coach  drove  directly  on 
the  immense  steam- ferry  which,  in  incredibly  short  time,  land- 
ed us  in  the  city  just  where  the  rivers  meet,  and  so  we  ar- 
rived at  the  inn,  very  near  the  remnants  of  the  fort  [built] 
there  against  the  Indians,  formerly  so  important  but  long  since 
abandoned. 

It  is  difficult  to  drive  through  the  streets  because  every- 
where wrecking  and  new  construction  is  going  on,  which  here 
in  Pittsburgh  far  exceeded  anything  seen  before.  The  in- 
describable activity  and  the  effects  of  the  spirit  of  unlimited 
enterprise,  astonishing  everywhere  in  America,  but  especially 
so  in  the  west,  acquire  in  this  wealthy  city  an  especial  character, 
because  here,  more  than  anywhere  else,  they  bear  the  marks 
of  solidity.  On  the  neck  of  land  on  which  Pittsburgh  proper 
stands,  cut  off  at  the  back  by  Grant's  Hill,  there  is  scarcely 
a  spot  that  is  not  covered  with  houses.  And  since  the  great 
Pennsylvania  Canal  has  been  brought  down  into  the  Monon- 
gahela River  by  a  cut  clear  through  Grant's  Hill  and  then  by 
locks,  this  high  hill  itself  has  been  entirely  covered  with 
houses,  for  the  cut  has  been  converted  into  a  tunnel  or  under- 
ground canal  by  a  vaulted  cover  and  by  filling  in.  The  canal 
comes  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  Allegheny  River  into 
the  wonderfully  beautiful,  new  town  of  Allegheny  which  has 
arisen  at  the  place  where  it  meets  the  river  and  which  is  in- 
cluded in  the  26,000  population  attributed  to  Pittsburgh.  Quite 
against  the  interests  of  the  state,  and  solely  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Old  Pittsburgh,  the  canal  at  reckless  and  unnecessary  ex- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  277 

pense  is  brought  across  the  Allegheny  River  in  an  enormous 
acqueduct  above  the  bridge,  costing  more  than  $1,000,000. 

After  we  learned  that  we  could  hope  to  get  as  far  as 
Reading  on  our  homeward  journey  advantageously  on  the 
so-called  northern  route  in  three  and  one-half  days,  and  still 
expect  some  hours  of  sleep  every  day,  we  decided  to  take  this 
new  way  on  Sunday,  the  seventeenth.  We  then  resolved  to 
use  one  of  the  intervening  days  for  an  excursion  to  the  most 
remarkable  settlement  of  the  famous  Mr.  Rapp  in  Economy, 
ten  miles  distant  ;38  and  on  the  other,  to  see  the  sights  of 
Pittsburgh  more  in  detail.  Accordingly,  on  the  morning  of 
the  15th,  we  started  for  Economy  in  a  livery  cab  on  a  very 
interesting  road,  which  kept  descending  close  to  the  Ohio,  and 
offered  the  most  glorious  views  and  scenery.  We  reached  this 
very  unique  place  about  nine  o'clock.  The  immense  fields 
and  meadows  in  the  finest  state  of  cultivation  and  covered 
with  whole  armies  of  Economists  ploughing,  mowing,  and  hay- 
making together  arouse  astonishment  which  becomes  even 
greater  when  one  reaches  the  pleasant  town  laid  out  in  squares 
and  containing  about  150  two-story,  half  brick  and  half  frame- 
work, whitewashed  private  houses,  exactly  alike ;  besides  sev- 
eral very  large  factories  and  other  public  buildings,  a  beauti- 
ful church,  and  the  houses  which  serve  for  Mr.  Rapp's  own 
residence.  One  peculiarity  of  the  private  houses  is  conspic- 
uous ;  namely,  that  no  doors  open  into  the  street,  but  the  en- 
trance is  always  on  the  side  through  the  yard.  The  dress  of 
the  people  is  plain,  but  suitable.  Their  whole  appearance,  es- 
pecially that  of  the  women  who  were  hay-making  together, 
irresistibly   called    up    recollections    of    my    earliest    childhood 


38This  is  the  settlement  developed  by  George  Rapp  and  his  fol- 
lowers, as  described  later,  after  they  sold  New  Harmony,  on  the  Wa- 
bash in  the  present  Posey  County,  to  Robert  Owen,  and  left  Indiana 
in  1824.  For  the  Rappites  at  Harmony  and  for  the  development  of 
New  Harmony,  see  Lockwood,  George  B.,  The  New  Harmony  Move- 
ment (New  York,  1905).  On  the  Rappites  at  Economy,  see  Bouswan, 
Joseph,  History  of  Beaver  County,  Pennsylvania,  vol.  II,  pp.  1004-35 
(1904),  and  Williams,  Aaron,  Harmony  Society  at  Economy,  Pennsyl- 
vania  (Pittsburgh,   1866). 


278  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

when  I  was  accustomed  to  see  something  quite  similar  at 
Bethlehem  and  especially  at  Gnadenthal.  All  wear  broad 
brimmed,  but  quite  good  looking  straw  hats.  If  one  considers 
that  only  seven  years  ago  Rapp  commenced  here  anew,  after 
selling  a  very  similar  establishment  on  the  Wabash,  New  Har- 
mony, on  account  of  the  unheal thiness  of  the  region,  just  as 
he  had  already  previously  sold  Old  Harmony  in  this  present 
vicinity  because  his  people  were  becoming  alienated  from  him 
there,  one  must  marvel  at  the  success  of  the  joint  efforts  which 
are  most  prudently  directed  from  one  center.  The  more  than 
one  thousand  acres  of  fields  in  a  perfect  state  of  cultivation, 
which  were  still  forests  seven  years  ago,  and  the  numerous 
buildings  of  every  kind  give  no  small  idea  of  it. 

As  I  had  with  me  several  recommendations  to  old  Mr. 
Rapp  himself,  and  spoke  of  this  right  away  in  the  well-ap- 
pointed and  spacious  inn,  they  were  taken  from  me  and  car- 
ried to  his  house  while  we  were  breakfasting.  Everybody 
speaks  German  and  an  external  similarity  to  a  German  com- 
munity is  indeed  apparent,  especially  at  the  inn  and  in  the 
conduct  of  the  persons  employed  there.  It  seems  that  the 
good  people  are  forming  families  now,  for  although  only  few 
children  and  very  few  young  people  were  seen  in  proportion 
to  the  whole  number  of  over  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  they 
were  not  entirely  lacking.  Not  without  a  secret  smile  I  noticed 
that  the  information  we  received  on  such  matters  from  the 
landlord  and  waiter  bore  distinctly  the  traces  of  a  familiar 
sort  of  reticence,  talkative  and  inquisitive  as  they  were  in  all 
other  matters  with  us,  as  Germans.  It  was  evidently  no  more 
agreeable  to  them  than,  for  example,  it  is  with  us  when 
strangers  ask  about  the  marriage-lot  and  such  things. 

We  had  to  wait  a  rather  long  time  until  we  were  intro- 
duced to  the  old  gentleman  because  he  was  inspecting  the 
fields.  At  length  we  were  taken  to  his  magnificently  furnished, 
papered,  and  carpeted  apartments  and  were  most  kindly  re- 
ceived first  by  his  adopted  son,  Frederick  Rapp,  and  then 
by  the  aged  man  himself,  very  striking  with  his  long  silver 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  279 

hair.  Our  conversation  was  long  and  varied  since  the  visit 
of  members  of  the  Moravian  brotherhood  seemed  to  interest 
him  very  much.  Among  other  things,  he  dilated  on  Count 
Zinzendorf  as  a  very  great  man  who  had  also  had  the  joy  of 
seeing  his  extensive  enterprises  succeed  so  beautifully — that  I 
was  his  great-grandson  was  of  course  a  matter  of  interest  to 
him  also.  At  a  remark  of  mine  which  he  seemed  to  interpret 
as  aiming  at  a  comparison  between  our  condition  and  that 
of  his  establishment,  he  undertook  to  explain  in  his  stentorian 
voice  that  the  difference  consisted  in  the  lack  of  obedience — 
which  in  America  does  not  outlast  the  second  generation — 
and  obedience  alone  made  the  success  of  such  enterprises 
possible.  I  should  have  liked  exceedingly  to  get  into  a  more 
detailed  conversation  with  this  obviously  shrewd  man,  and 
should  have  asked  him  many  a  question  which  would  prob- 
ably have  given  me  more  light  on  the  whole  matter.  My  knowl- 
edge of  our  own  former  circumstances,  especially  in  external 
matters,  would  have  enabled  me  to  do  so,  but  the  time  of 
our  acquaintance  was  too  short  for  it.  Only  one  thing  struck 
me:  judging  from  all  he  let  fall,  there  appeared  to  exist  ab- 
solutely no  real,  religious  foundation  of  the  association,  still 
less  a  Christian  purpose,  but  all  tended  only  to  the  bene  esse. 
Yet  Rapp  is  the  preacher  and  the  society  rightly  honors  him 
as  its  father  and  supporter.  He  rules  absolutely,  however,  and 
does  not  even  seem  to  wield  the  staff  of  leniency  on  any  fav- 
ored ones ;  at  least  he  speaks  in  a  rough  and  commanding  tone 
with  everybody. 

He  offered  us  several  kinds  of  wines  which  he  made  here 
and  on  the  Wabash,  some  of  which  were  good  but  by  no 
means  comparable  to  the  wine  of  our  Bethlehem  vineyards. 
He  then  took  us  completely  through  his  large  garden,  stocked 
with  the  finest  kinds  of  fruit  and  various  sorts  of  plants  and 
flowers,  and  at  the  same  time  given  a  half-way  park  effect, 
adorned  here  and  there  with  pavilions  and  statues  and  the 
like  in  rather  baroque  style.  He  showed  us  a  peculiar  group 
of  cottages  on  an  artificial  hill  where  music  is  given  at  eve- 


280  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

ning  time,  and  the  people  lie  down  round  about.  He  also  had 
a  dish  of  excellent  cherries,  morellos,  picked  for  us,  which 
we  then  ate  in  the  house  amid  further  conversation.  There- 
upon he  excused  himself  on  account  of  business  and  regretted 
that  he  could  not  keep  us  for  dinner.  His  son  took  us  around 
further,  especially  to  the  museum.  This  is  a  large  building 
with  a  gambrel  roof  which  looks  very  much  like  the  "Gemein- 
haus" at  Herrnhut.  It  is  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Muel- 
ler who  in  former  years  made  himself  useful  as  a  botanist  and 
still  speaks  enthusiastically  of  that  science  and  of  music.  He 
is  director  and  also  composer  for  them.  He  knew  me  by 
name  and  received  me  with  great  joy  and  love,  showing  us 
first  the  museum  which  is  arranged  in  three  large  halls.  It 
consists  of  stuffed  animals,  birds,  and  all  possible  objects 
of  nature  and  art,  accumulated  without  any  taste,  however, 
and  still  less  scientific  order;  it  contains  nothing  particularly 
remarkable.  Many  pictures  and  paintings  also  hang  there. 
I  was  therefore  the  more  delighted,  as  dinner  approached, 
with  Dr.  Mueller's  offer  to  show  me  when  it  was  over  the 
herbarium  which  is  quite  significant  and  principally  collected 
along  the  Wabash,  while  Brother  Frueauf  was  shown  around 
in  the  church  and  elsewhere  by  the  ordinary  visitors'  guide. 
The  herbarium  gave  me  great  pleasure  and  yielded  me  many 
plants,  as  well  as  the  acquaintance — bearing  similar  good  fruit 
— with  a  Pittsburgh  apothecary  who  also  happened  to  be  there 
and,  introducing  himself  as  a  botanist,  invited  me  to  his  house. 
We  started  on  our  way  back,  after  four  o'clock,  quite  happy 
over  this  visit.  All  day  long  the  weather  was  clear,  but  so 
cold  that  one  could  comfortably  wear  an  overcoat.  The  ride 
back  through  the  romantic  region  was  glorious.  In  the  seven- 
mile  Narrows,  the  river  hills,  mostly  perpendicular  rocks, 
came  so  close  to  the  river  that  there  is  scarcely  space  for  the 
road.  At  sunset  nothing  is  more  beautiful  than  the  immediate 
environs  of  Pittsburgh. 

We  spent  Saturday  in  a  pleasant  manner,  seeing  the  no- 
table sights  of  the  city  in  the  gracious  company  of  Mr.  Darling- 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  281 

ton,  one  of  the  gentlemen  to  whom  I  was  recommended.  The 
fearful  rains  of  the  past  week  had  caused  such  floods  in  this 
region  that  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  constructed  very  badly 
here  as  everywhere  and  with  the  greatest  waste  of  money,  had 
suffered  a  very  material  damage.  Among  other  things  the 
main  dam  at  the  Kiskiminitas  which  furnishes  it  its  water  has 
been  almost  entirely  washed  away,  so  that  it  has  gone  dry  at 
present.  The  navigation,  which  was  already  very  considerable, 
will  probably  be  hampered  for  the  whole  year.  This,  however, 
did  not  prevent  us  from  thoroughly  examining  the  tunnel  and 
acqueduct  on  the  canal,  as  well  as  a  very  interesting  and  ex- 
tensive iron  works  where,  in  a  so-called  rolling  mill,  pig-iron 
is  drawn  into  bars  with  admirable  rapidity. 

Early  on  the  17th,  we  left  Pittsburgh  in  clear  weather  on 
the  so-called  northern  route,  which  does  not  branch  off  from 
the  southern  turnpike,  however,  till  Wilkinsburg.  We  traveled 
in  a  comfortable  coach  which  fortunately  was  not  overcrowded 
with  passengers  on  the  whole  journey,  for  this  is  especially  an- 
noying in  hot  weather,  as  we  had  occasion  to  observe  for  ex- 
ample at  the  breakfast  place  where  we  arrived  at  the  same 
time  as  the  passengers  on  the  Philadelphia  coach.  They  were 
fourteen  in  number,  and  no  wonder  that  several  appeared  to 
be  quite  exhausted.  Just  where  the  two  roads  part,  in  the  en- 
virons of  Turtle  Creek  which  consist  of  high  steep  defiles,  lies 
the  battlefield,  noteworthy  in  American  history,  where  the 
British  General  Braddock  was  vanquished  in  1775  by  the  In- 
dians and  French,  and  the  remnants  of  his  army  were  saved 
by  Washington.  Later  on  we  found,  to  be  sure,  a  good  road 
and  excellent  views,  but  an  almost  uninterrupted,  steep  moun- 
tain ascent  and  descent,  until  we  crossed  the  Loyalhannah, 
quite  an  important  river,  and  approached  the  town  of  Blairs- 
ville,  which  has  grown  up  like  a  mushroom  on  the  canal,  on 
the  still  larger  Conemaugh  River.  Here  there  appeared  fear- 
ful traces  of  the  devastation  wrought  everywhere  by  the 
waters.  Among  other  things,  a  high  mill-dam  over  which  the 
turnpike   passes   was   half   washed   away,   so   that   we   had  to 


282  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

take  a  long  roundabout  way  before  we  got  on  the  pike  again. 
Blairsville,  where  we  took  dinner,  is  one  of  those  quick  births 
— perhaps  also  a  miscarriage — of  the  spirit  of  speculation  and 
enterprise,  which  probably  can  be  found  only  in  this  country. 
On  a  spot  where  only  four  years  ago  there  stood  no  buildings 
at  all,  several  hundred  elegant  brick  houses,  some  very  large, 
now  form  an  apparently  fine  town  which  has  grown  up  as 
if  by  a  stroke  of  magic.  Where  the  enterprise  is  based  upon 
an  erroneous  calculation,  as  it  seems  to  be  in  this  case,  just 
as  quick  a  decay  must  be  expected,  traces  of  which  are  not 
yet  visible,  to  be  sure,  but  which  are  said  to  have  already  com- 
menced. From  here  on  we  were  always  near  the  large  West- 
ern Pennsylvania  Canal  which,  however,  is  not  completed 
much  farther  than  here.  A  railroad,  upon  which  work  is  just 
commencing,  connects  the  western  canal  at  Blair's  Gap  in  the 
Allegheny  Mountains  with  the  eastern  canal  down  the  Juniata 
and  Susquehannah.  The  freight  charges  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburgh  will  indeed  be  much  reduced  by  this  line  of  com- 
munication. Even  now  it  amounts  only  to  $1.50  per  hundred- 
weight, although  long  stretches  of  the  canal  cannot  yet  be 
used  for  navigation.  Earlier  than  I  had  expected,  we  arrived 
at  our  night  quarters,  the  pretty  little  town  of  Armagh,  and 
could  still  enjoy  four  to  five  hours  of  rest  before  resuming 
our  journey  on  the  18th. 

We  now  gradually  approached  the  mountains  proper,  al- 
though there  was  nowhere  a  long,  much  less  a  steep  mountain. 
On  the  contrary  our  road  passed  frequently  through  beautiful 
valleys  grown  with  spruce  forests.  The  overcast  sky  too  soon 
changed  into  rain,  in  the  midst  of  which  we  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  an  old  acquaintance  from  Bethlehem,  Mr.  Welsh. 
He  is  at  present  chief  engineer  of  the  canal  in  this  region — 
as  he  had  been  with  our  canal — and  was  on  his  way  to  ex- 
amine the  damage  the  enterprise  had  suffered.  Another  Beth- 
lehem acquaintance,  Mr.  Roberts,  a  young  engineer,  kept  us 
very  pleasant  company  in  the  coach  from  Ebensburg  on,  which 
is  the  county  seat  of   Cambria   County.     As   it  was  raining 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  283 

hard,  this  gave  us  [our  only]  opportunity  to  obtain  very  sat- 
isfactory information  on  the  location  of  the  railroad  which 
we  passed  and  on  the  whole  situation. 

Through  the  darkest  and  finest  spruce  forests,  we  reached 
almost  unnoticeably  the  crest  of  the  Allegheny  Mountains  in 
Blair's  Gap.  Now  one  descends  uninterruptedly  for  several 
miles  along  the  little  mountain  stream  which,  at  the  little  towns 
of  Hollidaysburg  and  Franktown,  forms  the  Juniata.  From 
here  on  the  Eastern  Pennsylvania  Canal,  for  the  most  part 
already  completed,  runs  a  short  distance  from  the  road,  which 
descends  continuously  in  the  indescribably  romantic  valley  of 
the  Juniata  to  the  Susquehannah  above  Harrisburg.  Only 
here  and  there,  where  the  river  hills  come  too  close  to  the 
bank,  did  the  road  again  cross  the  mountains,  so  that  it  can 
truthfully  be  said  that  on  this  route  the  otherwise  wearisome 
passage  over  the  many  successive  ridges  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains  is  hardly  noticed.  Only  the  fact  that  it  is  still  nec- 
essary several  times  to  ford  the  Juniata,  which  gradually 
grows  into  a  large  river,  and  that  there  may  be  long  delays 
at  a  sudden  rise  of  the  water,  explains  that  the  numerous 
freight  conveyances  prefer  to  go  to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of 
Bedford.  Almost  everywhere,  however,  the  construction  of 
bridges  is  in  progress. 

Soon  after  sunset,  we  came  to  the  important  town  of 
Huntington  and  after  supper  had  an  opportunity  to  sleep  un- 
til one  o'clock,  which  rested  me  completely.  At  this  early 
hour,  on  the  19th,  we  commenced  our  further  journey  to 
Harrisburg,  by  way  of  Waynesburg,  Lewiston,  Mifflin,  and 
Thompsontown,  a  distance  of  almost  one  hundred  miles.  It 
was  due  to  the  dark,  early  hours  that  we  noticed  little  of 
the  awe-inspiring  precipices  along  which  the  road  ran.  When 
it  became  light  and  the  weather  proved  fine  we  enjoyed  with- 
out interruption  splendid  (at  times,  exquisite)  views  in  the 
charming  Juniata  Valley,  through  which  we  drove  very  fast, 
for  with  few  exceptions,  the  road  was  very  fine.  At  the 
mouth  of   the  Juniata,   in   the   gigantic    Susquehannah   River, 


284  Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831 

there  is  forming  a  large  and  extraordinarily  fertile  island. 
We  finally  crossed  this  Susquehanna  River  on  a  fearfully 
long  bridge,  where  Clark's  Ferry  formerly  ran.  We  went 
at  a  great  speed  along  its  most  remarkable  banks  for  fourteen 
miles  to  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania,  all  the  while  admiring 
the  group  of  islands  and  rock  reefs  which  give  such  a  pecu- 
liar and  remarkable  appearance  to  this  river,  at  places  a  mile 
and  a  half  wide.  A  river  of  such  magnitude,  which  is  no- 
where really  navigable,  not  even  at  its  mouth,  is  perhaps  not 
to  be  found  anywhere  else.  Here,  if  anywhere,  a  canal  is  a 
commercial  necessity.  The  Pennsylvania  Canal  along  which 
one  descends  appears  to  be  really  well  made  in  this  region. 
It  was  probably  about  eight  o'clock  when  we  arrived  at  Har- 
risburg. Consequently  we  could  rest  only  a  couple  of  hours 
as  we  had  to  continue  our  journey  on  the  20th  at  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning. 

The  road  was  excellent  from  now  on.  We  had  breakfast 
at  Lebanon,  after  a  ride  of  about  six  hours  on  an  empty 
stomach — a  method  of  traveling  which  we  did  not  find  at 
all  uncomfortable.  After  proceeding  quickly  through  the  fer- 
tile fields  of  Lebanon  and  Berks  County,  we  arrived  at  Read- 
ing as  early  as  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  the  day  quite  pleasantly  there.  From  a  news- 
paper which  we  got  here  we  learned  with  the  utmost  sorrow 
of  the  decease  of  our  worthy  old  Brother  Jacob  van  Vleck 
whom  I  had  left  without  much  hope  of  again  finding  him 
here  below. 

Full  of  longing  for  our  beloved  home  and  our  dear  ones, 
we  boarded  the  coach  for  Bethlehem  early  on  the  21st,  for 
the  last  time,  in  fine  clear  weather.  Breakfast  was  taken  at 
Kultstown,  and  to  our  impatient  disappointment  we  stopped 
unusually  long  for  dinner  at  Allenstown.  Nevertheless  this 
gave  us  an  opportunity  to  call  on  John  Rice  there  and  to 
assure  ourselves  of  the  wellbeing  of  our  people  from  whom 
we  had  not  heard  directly  since  June  1st.  At  about  three 
o'clock  we  arrived  safely  at  our  dear  Bethlehem,  full  of  thanks 


Von  Schweinitz  Journey  1831  285 

and  praise,  and  were  welcomed  with  joy  by  everybody.  We 
ourselves  were  filled  with  delight  at  meeting  all  our  dear  ones 
again.  I  hopefully  trust  that  the  Lord  will  not  let  the  benefi- 
cent results  of  my  journey  which  have  been  lessened  by  the 
new  attack  of  my  cough  wholly  vanish. 

We   have    traveled    twenty-one    hundred    miles    (English; 
four  hundred  and  fifty  German  miles)  on  this  journey. 


